BJP defends Taslima's ouster from Rajasthan

New Delhi, Nov 23 (UNI) Reiterating that Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen should be given adequate security as the Indian Government had provided her asylum, the BJP today justified the Rajasthan government's decision to ask her to leave the state on account of propriety.

In reply to a specific question, senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said propriety demands that the Centre should have taken Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundara Raje in confidence before she was shifted from Kolkata to Jaipur in the wake of Muslim fundamentalists violent agitation against her.

Ms Nasreen can live in any state of the country, be it ruled by the Congress, BJP or any other party as she had been given asylum by India. But the state government should be informed about it before hand so that adequate security measures are taken, Ms Swaraj said.

The BJP leader maintained that the controversial author should not be deported as demanded by the Muslim fundamentalists. ''The world over there is a system to provide asylum to political leaders and other prominent people facing threats from some quarters within their own country. It is the duty of the country providing shelter to ensure security to such persons,'' she added.

UNI