Taslima Nasrin said denying Joy Goswami the opportunity to speak was an insult to him. She said, “I felt bad. I invited Joy and requested him to speak. I spoke about freedom of speech — people can have different opinions, but everyone should be allowed to express their views. Why did those who claim to support freedom of speech not allow Joy to get up on stage? Political ideologies can differ, but people should be allowed to express them freely.” Osman Mallick from Secular Mission, one of the organisers, said, “We felt very bad and tried to calm down the audience.”