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This comes on a day when Communist Party of India (Marxist) requested Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to refer Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Tapas Paul's hate speech to the Committee on Ethics in order to take 'suitable punitive action" against him.

 

“Shri Tapas Pal, MP in the 16th Lok Sabha from Trinamool Congress had made a highly objectionable statement publicly in a gathering at his constituency Krishnanagar “If anyone from the Opposition dares to touch any women then I will send my boys and get women of CPI(M) raped," party leader Sitaram Yechury said in the letter addressed to the Speaker. 

 

He also said that Paul roams around with ‘maal’ (revolver) and will not hesitate to use it on his opponents. 

 

"This video was apparently showing in all the media on 1st July 2014 and now available with the media," the party stated.

 

”This is a clear cut case of ethical misconduct on the part of Shri Tapas Pal which had led to denigrating the image of Parliamentarians and is also an unbecoming conduct on the part of the Member," Yechury said.

 

“It is therefore, kindly requested that the above said act of ethical misconduct may be referred to Committee on Ethics and suitable punitive action may be taken against the Member," urged he.

 

Meanwhile, several other women organisations have also raised the issue with Mahajan and demanded action.

 

"Women’s organisations are shocked at such audacious and anti-women statements coming from an elected member of your house especially at a time when the entire country is grappling with the increasing assaults on women and West Bengal is recording highest incidence of crime against women," they stated in a letter to the Speaker.

 

Maitree, a non funded, autonomous women's network said, "We are outraged by the shameful comments made by the Trinamul Congress MP, Tapas Pal in Nadia, West Bengal on June 14, 2014 as he addressed party supporters. Electronic media reports shows Tapas Pal gesturing obscenely and using abusive language as he threatened to send TMC ‘boys’ to murder and rape supporters of the CPM party and destroy entire families."

 

"The TMC has subsequently tried to cover up the incident by arguing Tapas Paul had said ‘raid’ and not ‘rape’; whileTapas Paul himself casually squeaked that these “comments should not be taken literally”!  We are shocked that an MP can threaten at a public meeting to shoot from his revolver and use violence against members of the Opposition – be it rape or murder," it said.

 

Earlier in the day,  amid controversy over Paul's 'rape' remark, Congress MP and President Pranab Mukherjee's son Abhijeet Mukherjee, who himself was booed by women groups for his remark on the Delhi gangrape protest of Dec 2012, defended the Bengali film actor saying he should be 'forgiven' as he has tendered an apology.

 

He also said Paul's remark might be a 'slip of tongue'.

 

"It might be a slip of tongue. But such mistakes should not occur," Mukherjee told media.

 

He said: "Tapas has written an apology letter. I feel since he has apologised."

 

 Abhijit Mukherjee had drawn flak after calling the fatal grang-rape protesters in Delhi as one by  'highly dented and painted" women.

 

 Trinamool Congress on Wednesday said an unconditional apology by its MP Tapas Paul, who threatened in a village the opposition CPI-M women with rape by his boys, has been accepted by the party, effectively letting off the actor-turned-politician facing a nationwide outrage for his remarks.

 

"The party has accepted his unconditional apology which he did because the party believes that was written in right spirit," party Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien told reporters.

 

He said the apology in tone, manner and content was in right spirit and "the matter ends there."

 

O'Brien said Paul tendered the unconditional apology in a letter to the party, women of West Bengal and media and everyone else.

 

While a nationwide outcry has followed demanding punishment of Trinamool Congress MP Tapas Paul who in a public meeting in a village in West Bengal has been caught on camera threatening women of the opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) with rape by his boys, the Union Home Ministry has sought a report from the state on the action taken.

 

He also threatened to kill people himself with a firearm.  

 

A second video also emerged on Paul's another speech where he also threatened to kill and provoked party members to slit the throat of opposition.