By IANS
Kolkata : In a departure from the West Bengal government’s stand on Taslima Nasreen, a senior state minister Wednesday welcomed the central government’s assurance of “shelter” to the controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, saying she was free to stay “anywhere she likes”.
“I cannot comment on what External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said, but I welcome the Centre’s assurance of shelter to Taslima Nasreen. She can stay anywhere she likes,” state Sports and Transport Minister Subhas Chakraborty told newspersons.
Chakraborty had earlier offered the writer to stay at his residence if she feels insecure elsewhere, a day after Taslima was quietly packed off to Jaipur from here.
Regarding the conditions set by the external affairs minister, asking the Bangladeshi writer to “refrain from activities and expressions” that may hurt the sentiments of Indian people, Chakraborty said, “You have to conform to a given set of conditions everywhere. It is a part of life.”
In a delicate balancing act, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured “shelter” in India to Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, but urged her to “refrain from activities and expressions” that may hurt the sentiments of Indian people and harm relations with friendly countries.
Nasreen was first moved from Kolkata to Jaipur last week a day after violent protests rocked Kolkata over her stay in India. She was then shifted to New Delhi early this week. The Intelligence Bureau has now kept her in a ‘safe house’ within a National Security Guards (NSG) complex in Delhi.
In various television interviews, Nasreen, whose novel “Lajja” (Shame) was banned by the Bangladesh government 13 years ago, has said that she would like to go back to Kolkata, which she considers her second home.
Fundamentalist Muslim organisations in West Bengal have, however, opposed the re-entry of Taslima in the state, hinting that her presence there would inflame passions again.