BJP finds ally in Taslima Nasreen to build support for citizenship bill

KOLKATA: The BJP is projecting Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen as the face of religious persecution to drum up support for the Citizenship Bill ahead of the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The party is using her face to portray the atrocities committed on dissidents and minorities (Hindus) in neighbouring countries such as Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The party is also taking some of the ‘victims’ of such persecution to public meetings in Bengal to highlight the problems they are facing in those countries. “We are still in the dark about the contents of the bill, but we are continuing with our work in Bengal.

We are holding awareness campaigns and the victims of religious atrocities in Bangladesh are coming with us. They are narrating their stories, and we have got huge support from exiled author Nasreen. She has been extremely vocal about Islamic torture and terror,” said Mohit Roy, convener of Refugee Cell, BJP.

Roy said that they wanted to get her to Bengal so that she could interact with people here, but her entry to the state is restricted for fear of communal backlash. “So we are using her letters, books and write-ups to tell people how an intellectual like her was relentlessly tortured by fundamentalists in Bangladesh.Even her passport was revoked,” said Roy.