Bangladesh Chief Advisor Yunus has aligned with religious extremists: Writer Taslima Nasrin

Thiruvananthapuram: Bangladeshi-Swedish writer Taslima Nasrin on Friday hit out at the Bangladesh government, alleging that its chief advisor -- Muhammad Yunus -- has aligned himself with the "religious extremists and empowered forces of division" in that country.

While speaking on the topic of 'Book for Peace' at the 4th edition of the Kerala Legislative Assembly International Book Festival (KLIBF) here, Nasrin also alleged that Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was "promoting agendas that threaten secularism and safety of ordinary citizens".

She said that when "certain religious fanatics and extremists" threatened her life and issued fatwas (religious edicts) against her in connection with her books, the then Bangladesh government took no action against them and instead issued an arrest warrant against her.

"Had the government taken action against the fanatics and jihadists then, this country (Bangladesh) would not have been so bad now. The government used religion for its own political interests and to stay in power as long as possible," she said.

She also accused the Bangladesh government of building religious schools to get the support of the fanatics "to stay in power for longer time", instead of building secular educational institutions and science academies.

Blaming the interim government for the current crisis in that country, she said, "The fundamentalists are kind of in power and Dr Yunus is supporting them. So, I do not know how we will get back this secular country again for which it fought against Pakistan in 1971.

"Now, the nation is divided and the Muslim extremists are killing and persecuting the religious minority communities and it must be stopped," she said.