Cong, Left pass buck on Taslima

The CPM, on the other hand, maintained that its Government in West Bengal had nothing to do with granting or denying visa to anyone and it was for the Congress-led Central government to decide.

The views of both the CPM and the Congress flies in the face of what E Ahamed, Minister of State for External Affairs said on Sunday. Speaking to reporters in Kozhikode, Ahamed said “the West Bengal Government had demanded the extension of the visa.”

Singhvi’s attempt to underscore the Centre’s ability to take an objective decision on Taslima’s stay in the country, amidst BJP criticism, has put the CPM on the mat.

CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said the state had no role to play. “The West Bengal Government is not involved in this. The Central Government has to take the call,” said Yechury, refusing comment on whether his party supported or objected to extending Taslima’s visa further.

“She has been staying in Kolkota and if the Union Government extends her visa it will be incumbent on the Government of the place where she is to provide her security,” Yechury said.

The BJP is leaving no stone unturned to embarrass the Congress and CPM, both never tired of trumpeting their liberal credentials. The BJP said Taslima should be allowed to “stay wherever she wants.”

“It is a shame for the entire nation that Taslima Nasreen is made to run for her life after she was granted shelter and visa to stay in the country,” said V K Malhotra, BJP’s Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha. The BJP had earlier demanded that Taslima be treated as a political refugee and alleged that the Left Front Government in West Bengal had given in to Islamic fundamentalists by forcing her out of Kolkata.

Attacking the BJP, Singhvi said, “The BJP is giving the impression that Rajasthan Bhawan is in Rajasthan. It is the Centre that is providing her with security. Law and order in Delhi is under the Central Government.” He said the Centre was completely in the dark on Taslima being moved from one place to another — from Kolkata to Jaipur and then to Delhi. “Nobody has the right in this country to take her here and there without the Centre’s permission.”

But the Congress counter-offensive on the BJP bruised ally CPM too. Singhvi said when the Centre was examining the request to extend Taslima’s visa, the West Bengal Government had raised some objections which any state government can legitimately do. But the Union government, he said, overruled these objections, something that the CPM will find difficult to own up.

Interestingly, neither Congress nor the Left is taking a view on whether Taslima should be allowed to stay on the country. Both are taking umbrage under a legal-technical view. Parrying a question on what was his party’s view on granting asylum to the writer, Yechury said “there are established rules and laws. The Central government decides on this on the basis of information it has.”

Singhvi said visas in such cases are granted according to established norms and they “have to observe certain conditionalities, such as they cannot participate in political activities and should not cause strains in our relations with any country.”