At a media briefing after the conclave of UNPA leaders hosted by the Telugu Desam Party in Vijayawada, National Conference leader and former Jammu & Kashmir chief minister Dr Farooq Abdullah articulated the views of the UNPA about the burgeoning controversy.
"Salman Rushdie wrote Satanic Verses and the reaction in the world was so severe that he continues to live in hiding today. We have a similar problem in India. We have a Bangladeshi national Taslima Nasreen. She also writes and reviles Islam and the Prophet of Islam. This is not acceptable to Muslims, not only in India but across the world," he said.
"Nobody has a right to criticise religion. I am a Muslim but I have no right to criticize Hindus or Hindu Gods or Sikhs or Christians. In the Holy Quran, there is a verse which says you respect your religion and you respect other religions also. Now, when she has done this (blasphemous writing), she has been turned out of her country. India has given her asylum. If she wants to stay in peace and if she wants India to be in peace, she must not continue with that sort of dialogue," Dr Abdullah added.
"She must say that she is sorry for what she has done. Unless she does that, she is not only going to pay the price but every one of us will have to pay it. This committee feels that she must not violate the asylum granted to her," the NC leader said.
Asked if the UNPA wanted Taslima Nasreen to be deported, he quipped, "The decision about her staying or leaving has to be made by the government."
When newsmen pointed out that he was endorsing the stand taken by Islamic fundamentalists, he shot back: "I am not a Maulvi, but I am a Musalman. That is why I say this. I don't want hatred to be created because there are forces that emerge to take advantage of it."
UNPA convenor and Telugu Desam Party chief N Chandrababu Naidu intervened to say "It is a sensitive issue. All of us have to live peacefully. That's why we are saying that this type of writings are not good for the nation and not good for world peace also."
