Guest guest Posted March 19, 2008 Report Share Posted March 19, 2008 I'm being forced out for Muslim vote: Taslimahttp://ultracurrents.blogspot.com/Diptosh Majumdar ,CNN-IBNTue, Mar 18, 2008 New Delhi: Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Tuesday said while she is going out of the country because of health reasons, she still loves India and her heart is still in Kolkata. In an exclusive interview to CNN-IBN's National Affairs Editor Diptosh Majumdar, she said she has been forced to leave India because of extreme stress that she went through over these last few months. Taslima claims she was being kept out of Kolkata primarily because of political reasons as the Left Front Government there didn't want to antagonise the Muslim voters ahead of the forthcoming panchayat elections in the state. Diptosh Majumdar:Why have you taken this decision to leave India? Taslima Nasreen: I am being forced to leave India. I have been living under house arrest for seven-and-a-half months — four months in Kolkata and three-and-a-half months in Delhi. I was not allowed to step out or meet anyone. I was constantly under pressure to leave the country. I refused to leave this country because I love this country and I have settled in this country a few years ago. My home is in Kolkata. But because of stress-related hypertension and not being allowed to see doctors for months, I developed some difficult diseases from which it is difficult recover. This confinement has left a very bad impact on my mental and physical health. I am forced to leave India to get necessary treatment and save at least the rest of my body, which has not yet been damaged from this extreme stress, which I went through over these last several months. Diptosh Majumdar:Where are you going? Taslima Nasreen: It is not important where I am going, where I will stay. It is important to understand why I am taking this step of having to leave this country, which I love and respect so much. Diptosh Majumdar:When do you hope to come back and where? Are you keeping your flat in Kolkata? Taslima Nasreen: I definitely want to come back after the panchayat election. I have been told that after the panchayat elections, when the political parties would have got their Muslim votes and won their elections, I would be allowed to go back to Kolkata. Yes, I am not giving up my connections with Kolkata. I am keeping everything there. I was not allowed to go to my home in Kolkata to pick up some necessary things, which I needed before leaving the country. Anyway, I sincerely hope I will be allowed to live in Kolkata after two or three months. Diptosh Majumdar:What is the status of your health? Taslima Nasreen: My doctors have told me that I have hypertension and some problems which are cardiac in nature. I also have an eye problem. Diptosh Majumdar: What is your message to those who forced you to leave? Taslima Nasreen: I hope their good sense will prevail. I hope they will try to uphold the ideas of Indian democracy and secularism. Hope they will value human rights and freedom of expression. Diptosh Majumdar:What is your message to those who supported you? Taslima Nasreen: I am grateful to all those who have showed their support and solidarity towards me. I consider them my home, my country.http://www.ibnlive.com/news/im-being-forced-out-for-muslim-vote-taslima/61492-3.html?xmlhttp://ultracurrents.blogspot.com/ Where are Human Rights @ http://indiaview.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/wherere-human-rights-advocates/ Be a better friend, newshound, and know-it-all with Mobile. Try it now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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