Rally demands return of Taslima to Kolkata
Staff Reporter, The Hindu
December 23, 2007
http://www.hindu.com/2007/12/23/stories/2007122360671000.htm

Smear campaign has been launched against the Bangladeshi writer, says Mahasweta Devi

Demanding the return of the exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen to Kolkata, several civil society organisations took out a rally here on Saturday.

Both ordinary citizens and prominent individuals took part in the rally, with some of the participants carrying placards that read ‘Bring back Taslima’ and ‘Kolkata misses Taslima.’

“Taslima Nasreen has been removed from Kolkata by the West Bengal government because the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is trying to rope in the Muslim votes for the upcoming panchayat elections in the state,” said writer and social activist Mahasweta Devi at the end of the rally.

She alleged that a smear campaign had been launched against Ms. Nasreen by the State government among the minorities for the sake of vote bank politics.
Blind support

It was unfortunate that the Congress government at the Centre was “blindly supporting” the State government in order to ensure its survival, she said.

Painter Shuvaprassana expressed surprise as to why a book [Dwikhandito] written five years ago was the cause of so much trouble.

Writer Jaya Mitra said the actions of the State government against Ms. Nasreen exposed its ‘moral and cultural bankruptcy.’