Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin expresses desire to return to Kolkata after BJP comes to power in Bengal!

Kolkata – The change of power in Bengal has revived my hopes of returning to Kolkata. I was expelled from this very city in November 2007, and since then I have never been permitted to return. I hope the situation changes now. I have always wanted to return to Kolkata, but this wish remained unfulfilled because neither the Left Front government nor the Trinamool government permitted me to do so. Earlier, a television serial written by me too had to be taken off the air following orders from the Trinamool government. If it becomes possible for me to live in Kolkata, I will certainly live there, said exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin. She is currently living as a refugee  in Delhi.

Taslima further said –

1. After being exiled from Bangladesh in August 1994, Kolkata became my home because it gave me an opportunity to experience the same Bengali culture for which I had left Europe and come to Kolkata.

2. I want to visit Kolkata and participate in various cultural programmes because it is considered India’s cultural capital. I also wish to participate in the Kolkata International Book Fair. I have travelled to many parts of India and recently visited Kerala to participate in cultural events.

3. If the state government permits me to come to Kolkata, I will remain deeply grateful to them. For the past two decades, I have cherished the dream of settling in Kolkata, and now I am fully prepared to live there. If the state government helps me, I will stay there permanently.

4. Many organisations have contacted me regarding coming to Kolkata; however, I still do not know when I will be able to travel to the city.

Issue raised in Rajya Sabha !

BJP MP and Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya had raised the issue of Taslima Nasrin in the Rajya Sabha last year and requested the Home Ministry to make arrangements for her to live in Kolkata.