Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Shri L.K. Advani has alleged that the UPA government is not extending the visa of noted Bengali writer Taslima Nasrin under pressure from the fundamentalists and Left parties. He said it is voice of the secularism that her visa should be extended forthwith and she should be allowed to lead a normal life in West Bengal. Shri Advani was releasing two books?Secular Politics, Communal Agenda by Prof. Makkhanlal and Educating to Confuse and Disrupt jointly by Prof. Rajendra Dixit and Prof Makkhanlal?at the National Museum Auditorium in New Delhi on January 31. Both the books have been published by India First Foundation.
Shri Advani further said the UPA government is under wrong impression that it is the only well-wisher of the Muslims. Since it is the Congress that mostly ruled the country so far, it is the Congress, which is responsible for the plight of Muslims today. The members of the Constituent Assembly had decided not to give any reservation on the basis of religion. But now the UPA government is working totally opposite. He said Taslima Nasrin is facing hardships in India because the present government feels that, if it supports Taslima, it would lose its Muslim vote bank and the Left parties would withdraw their support. He said the UPA government is dishonouring India by subjecting Taslima Nasrin to ?house arrest? and ?ill treatment?. ?Like millions of the countrymen, I am shocked and outraged at media reports that the noted Bengli writer, Taslima Nasrin has been kept in virtual house arrest at a secret place in Delhi and, worse still, that her health is affected by poor medical care. Both the Congress-led UPA government at the Center and the CPI (M)-led Left Front government in West Bengal are responsible for her poor plight,? he said.
Shri Advani said, ?It is the responsibility of the Central and State governments to ensure her personal security. Religious extremists, who might harm her, have to be dealt with according to the law of the land. Lastly, there should be no delay in extending her visa to enable her to continue to live in India,? he said. He alleged that the UPA government has been putting pressure on Nasrin to leave India and go away to any other part of the world of her choice. Smt. Nasrin has been pleading for permanent resident status in India.
Shri Advani further said, ?It is, indeed, ironic that the Congress-Communist combine, which has actively colluded in the influx of 1,20,53,950 illegal Bangladeshi migrants (as on December 2001) in Assam, West Bengal and other parts of the country, cannot give protection to a single hapless woman who is a victim of religious persecution in her own country. Many of these infiltrators have been given not only shelter but also ration cards and voting rights. It is due to greed for votes that the Congress and the Communists had been stoutly resisting the demand for repeal of the Illegal Migrants Determination by Tribunal (IMDT) Act. Ultimately, on July 15, 2004, the Supreme Court had to strike it down as unconstitutional with a stinging censure of the Central Government,? Shri Advani added.
Presiding over the function, Shri K.C. Pant said we must learn from the history and the new generation should know its glorious past. He said facts must not be distorted. The British not only divided us but also brainwashed our people. This is the reason the majority of the countrymen today do not know their roots.
Shri A. Surya Prakash said the book written by Prof. Makkhanlal is of great value. Shri Prakash spoke in detail about Pt. Nehru and Smt Indira Gandhi who repeatedly misused their powers and kept the country in dark on various issues. He also referred to the Emergency and exposed the pseudo-secularism of the Congress and the bureaucrats and some other leaders who praised Smt. Gandhi for imposing the Emergency.
Praising Prof. Makkhanlal, Prof. Kapil Kumar said Shri Makkhanlal has challenged the modern-day historians who are distorting the history. He said the country must be careful of the pseudo-secular and opportunist historians who are dominating today. Earlier, Prof. Makkhanlal briefly introduced both the books.
?P.K.
