Taslima back in India after Sweden exile

BY PARWEZ HAFEEZ and NAMRATA BIJI AHUJA

KOLKATTA/NEW DELHI

Aug. 8: The Marxist administration in West Bengal does not want Taslima Nasreen back in Kolkata.

The West Bengal government on Friday was taken unawares by the sudden arrival of controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen in New Delhi.

"The news has come as a surprise and mind you, not a pleasant one," a CPI(M) leader in Kolkata said, responding to Ms Nasreen’s arrival. Mr Nasreen was immediately whisked away by security agencies who took her to an "undisclosed destination’’ after her arrival at Indira Gandhi International Airport early on Friday morning. Her visa is valid till August 12.

Close associates of Mr Nasreen in Kolkata expressed concern about her whereabouts.

"We don’t know her whereabouts. She has not been able to contact us so far," Mr Nasreen’s publisher Arun Maheshwari, who published the Hindi version of her book Dvikhandita said.

Mr Nasreen had left the country for Sweden on March 18 after a turbulent stay in a government "safe house’’ near the national capital for more than four months.

Mr Nasreen had alleged that she was under "virtual house arrest’’ and the Central security agencies were monitoring her movements.

While the state government did not comment on the matter, sources said that even if Mr Nasreen expressed her desire to return to Kolkata, she will not be welcomed.

A fortnight ago state home secretary Ashok Mohan Chakraborty had emphatically said that there was no question of the Bangladeshi writer’s return to the state. "Only a few months ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha elections, the beleaguered CPI(M) cannot risk antagonising 27 per cent Muslim population," the CPI(M) leader said.

Meanwhile, Union home secretary Madhu-kar Gupta maintained silence over the issue. Muslim organisations in Kolkatta have warned that they will again organise street agitations if Mr Nasreen was allowed to return to the city. "It is evident that the UPA has extended her visa which was to expire next week. Why else has she returned?" said the All-India Minority Forum chief Idris Ali, who was arrested in 2007 for inciting riots.