New Delhi, March 2: Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Tuesday said the law and order situation in Karnataka is under control and the state government would take action in the case related to the publication of an article, purportedly written by exiled
Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen, which led to violent protests in the state.
Mr Chidambaram said he was in touch with Karnataka CM B.S. Yeddyurappa, who had told him the state police had filed FIRs in the case and further action would be taken. “This is an article she wrote in 2007. That article was translated in Kannada and published on Milad-ud-Nabi day. It is unfortunate. The article seems to have triggered some protests,” he said. The home minister said additional Central forces have been rushed to the state to bring the situation under control.
Taslima Nasreen said the appearance of the article in a Karnataka newspaper purportedly written by her was a “deliberate attempt to malign” her and “misuse” her writings to create disturbances in society. “The incident that occurred in Karnataka on Monday shocked me. I learned that it was provoked by an article written by me that appeared in a Karnataka newspaper. But I have never written any article for any Karnataka newspaper in my life,” said the author.
“The appearance of the article is atrocious. In any of my writings I have never mentioned that Prophet Mohammed was against the burqa. Therefore this is a distorted story,” Taslima Nasreen said. “I suspect that it is a deliberate attempt to malign me and to misuse my writings to create disturbance in society. I wish peace prevails,” she added. Taslima Nasreen has been staying at an undisclosed location since her return to India in February.
Mr Chidambaram, meanwhile, added, “I wait for action to be taken by the government of Karnataka. The government of Karnataka knows its responsibility and it will take action,” he added. Nasreen’s visa has been extended by six months, till August 2010.
Age Correspondent
