New Delhi, Dec.21 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) today described the alleged "house arrest" of Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen as "shocking news", and urged the UPA Government not to forget the time tested philosophy of "Athithi Devo Bhawa".

"Taslima is a victim of religious persecution in Bangladesh. She is now a refugee in India. The BJP would like to remind the UPA central government and CPM state government that we are no longer living under the emergency rule of 1975 in which the then attorney general had infamously had the audacity to state that "nobody has right to life if the government wishes so," said BJP spokesman Prakash Javadkar.

Javadkar also said that the BJP is also amused to note that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally acknowledged that the left-wing extremism of the Naxals is growing and their base has enlarged.

Blaming the UP Government for discontinuing the co-ordinated action plan and working group arrangement initiated by theprevious NDA Government to tackle Naxals despite its success, Javadkar demanded that instead of mere statements, the government must display the resolve and follow it up with a specific action plan to conclusively combat and defeat Naxalism across the country. (ANI)