Taslima not under house arrest: Cong

New Delhi, Feb 1 (UNI) Strongly denying that controversial Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin was under house arrest, the Congress today said the statement of BJP leader L K Advani to the contrary was a joke.

Reacting to Mr Advani's remarks, AICC spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters that Ms Nasrin had been accommodated in an undisclosed place in Delhi due to security considerations and this did not mean she was under house arrest.

Before making the allegation, Mr Advani should have considered the fact that the BJP government in Rajasthan could not accommodate the Bangladeshi author even for 24 hours, the Congress spokesman said.

At the same time, anyone given asylum in India should take care not to hurt the sentiments of the people and avoid violating the code of conduct meant for such persons, Mr Ahmed said.

Also, the Centre cannot force any state government in the matter of maintaining law and order, he explained.

UNI SN/SH RP HT1738