- Suvendu Adhikari assured full security for Taslima Nasreen on her Bengal visits
- Nasreen made her first public Kolkata appearance since 2007 amid protests
- Adhikari claimed Bengal now protects freedom of expression and constitutional rights
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Saturday assured exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen of full security whenever she visits the state, using her return to Kolkata after nearly 19 years to project what he described as a fundamental political shift in Bengal under the BJP government.
Addressing a literary event on anti-fundamentalism at Rabindra Sadan, where Nasreen made her first public appearance in Kolkata since being forced to leave the city in 2007, Adhikari said the state had entered an era where freedom of expression and constitutional rights would be protected.
"It is my duty as the chief minister and also as the minister in charge of the police department to provide you with security whenever you visit West Bengal," Adhikari said.
"Not just once, whenever you wish, come to West Bengal as many times as you want. You will receive complete security," he told the author and the gathering.
Making a broader political statement, the chief minister said Bengal had changed with the change of government.
"This is a West Bengal free from shackles and fear. Every pillar of the Constitution is protected here. Everyone has the right to come here, and everyone has the freedom to express themselves," he said.
Welcoming Nasreen to what he called a "safe West Bengal", Adhikari said her presence itself demonstrated that democracy, constitutional values, freedom of speech and fundamental rights were now secure in the state.
"Today it has been proved that under the new government democracy, the Constitution, freedom of speech and fundamental rights are protected in Bengal," he said.
Without naming any political party, Adhikari contrasted the present with the past, saying, "The era of threats, intimidation, and attempts to silence people is over." The chief minister presented Nasreen with a portrait of Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, noting that the year marked the 150th anniversary of Vande Mataram.
The event marked Nasreen's first public appearance in Kolkata since November 2007, when she left the city amid violent protests over portions of her autobiographical work 'Dwikhandito' (Split: A Life).
The controversy had erupted after the publication of the book, triggering demonstrations in several parts of West Bengal.
The then Left Front government banned the book and, citing a deteriorating law and order situation, shifted Nasreen out of Kolkata before she eventually left the state.
For the BJP government, Nasreen's return carries political symbolism that extends beyond a literary event.
Her forced departure from Kolkata in 2007 has long remained a contentious episode in Bengal's political discourse, frequently invoked by the BJP to accuse successive Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments of compromising freedom of expression in the face of religious extremism and vote-bank politics.
By hosting Nasreen publicly at one of Kolkata's premier cultural venues and framing her return as evidence of restored constitutional freedoms, the BJP government sought to reinforce its narrative of a decisive break from the state's previous political order.
Nasreen, known internationally for her outspoken criticism of religious fundamentalism and advocacy of women's rights, has lived in exile since leaving Bangladesh in 1994 following threats from Islamist groups over her writings.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
