Women’s organisations condemn in severest words the shocking threats and provocations for rapes, murder and physical attacks on political opponents by TMC MP Tapas Pal of West Bengal. A delegation comprising of Jagmati Sangwan, General Secretary (AIDWA), Sudha Sundararaman, Vice President (AIDWA), Jyotsna Chatterjee ( JWP), Mrs. Immat Hooda (GOS) and Bulbul Das (AIWC) met the National Commission of Women (NCW) chairperson and submitted a memorandum. The NCW chairperson assured the delegation that appropriate action would be taken in the matter. On behalf of the NCW The President, The Prime Minister and the speaker had already been approached demanding the removal of Tapas Pal, MP for his comments.
Tapas Pal, TMC MP for second time from Krishnanagar, Nadia, threatened and abused political opponents in general and the CPI(M) in particular in a public meeting consisting of party workers and others held at Choumaha, Nakasipara, in Nadia district of West Bengal on 30 June, 2014. The virulent hate-speech, video-clippings from which were shown on a number of regional and national channels, contains statements like ' if any CPI(M) person dares to harm my mother, sister, uncle, aunt, I Tapas Pal will take out my revolver and shoot them'...' those who have become our opponents in Choumaha, i warn them'....' i shall demolish their houses and send my boys and get them raped'....'I shall finish off their whole clan, their houses and homes' etc.
What is alarming is that all this was being said in an open space in front of a crowd which was breaking into loud applause at his atrocious statements from time to time. This shows that he was deliberately provoking his supporters against political opponents and thus trying to disturb law and order. This speech is all the more dangerous because in the district of Nadia post-poll violence is still going on. At least two murders of members of the political opposition have taken place. There are numerous cases of attacks on them. In this situation, a hate-speech of this kind by a member of the Parliament is likely to create more terror and violence in the area. Tapas Pal is but following in the footsteps of TMC leaders like Anubrata Mandal and Manirul Islam who have made incendiary speeches against the political opposition to justify acts of violence like murder. The state administration has taken no steps against them. The administrative head in the state has herself publicly condoned their action. Now that we find an elected representative openly making threats of rape, murder and physical attack against political opponents, we have little hope that his party or the state government will punish him for his action in spite of a face-saving show-cause notice which his party has apparently sent him. But in the interest of parliamentary democracy itself which is defiled by such behavior by elected representatives, we demand that the video-clippings be examined and stringent punitive action including his expulsion from Loksabha be considered.
If appropriate action is not initiated against him urgently a countrywide agitation will be announced from 7th of July, the very date on which coming parliament session starts. Demonstration will also be organized in front of parliament demanding his expulsion.
(AIDWA) (AIWC) (GOS) (JWP) (MWF) (NFIW) (YWCA) (AIDMAM)
