'Centre's call if Taslima should return to Bengal'

In a volte face on the issue of Taslima Nasreen being shunted out from Kolkata, West Bengal Minister Subhas Chakraborty on Tuesday said the controversial writer could stay in the city only if allowed to do so by the Centre.

"The state government is responsible only for maintainance of law and order. But it is the Centre which has to allow her to return here if she wants to," he said.

A day after Taslima was quietly packed off from the city and taken to Rajasthan on Novermber 22, Chakraborty had said, "If she feels insecure during her stay in the country, I am ready to offer my residence to her for stay as long as she wants".

Chakraborty, however, declined to comment when asked whether Taslima's expulsion had tarnished the image of the state government. "It is for you to decide," he replied. On the Bharatiya Janata Party's criticism of the Centre and the state government on the issue, the Communist Party of India-Marxist state committee member said, "The BJP is doing what it does all the time."