Indian lawmaker issues apology over rape comments
Print Edition
AN Indian lawmaker apologized yesterday after he was captured on video threatening the rape of his political rivals’ relatives, in what he said was “a gross error of judgement.”
Tapas Pal of the All India Trinamool Congress Party admitted his remarks had caused “dismay and consternation” after initially denying he had made the rape comment.
“I have no excuses to offer. It was a gross error of judgement and deeply insensitive,” Pal, 55, said in a statement.
Amid widespread outrage in India over a series of recent high-profile rapes, Pal could be clearly heard bragging of his ability to order attacks against his left-wing opponents.
“If CPI-M (Communist Party of India - Marxist) tries to kill and intimidate our workers... I will not spare them. I will let loose my men to rape your women,” he said in an address to followers in late May which was filmed on a phone.
His comments drew widespread condemnation, including from Trinamool which is the fourth largest party in parliament and whose support is concentrated in the state of West Bengal.
Pal, who is also a minor film star in the Kolkata-based movie industry, tried to limit the damage by claiming he had been misquoted. “I never said rape. I said raid,” he said earlier.
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