Controversial writer Taslima Nasreen on Saturday met Home Minister Rajnath Singh after she was refused a one-year visa by the Government and instead given permission to stay in India for two months.
The writer had applied for a resident permit and the Home Ministry had granted her the same type of visa but only for two months beginning August 1. She is, however, hopeful of receiving a favourable response from the Government.“I met Home Minister Rajnath Singh this afternoon. Gave him my book Wo Andhere Din. He said, ‘Aapke andhere din khatam ho jayenge’ (Your dark days will end),” Taslima tweeted after her meeting. During the 20-minute meeting, Taslima requested the Home Minister to allow her to stay in India for a longer period.
Taslima is now a citizen of Sweden. She has been continuously getting an Indian visa since 2004. She had expressed her wish to settle in India, especially in Kolkata. She had to leave Kolkata in 2007 during the left-Front Government rule following street protests against her writings.
A verification process of Nasreen’s visa application has also been initiated by the Government and the two-month visa has been given making a decision on the long-term visa pending. After verification is completed, the Government will take an appropriate decision, a Home Ministry official said. The controversial writer from Bangladesh has been living in self-exile since 1994 in the wake of death threats by Muslim fundamentalist outfits.