Trinamool MP slammed for comments against Shastri's kin

Infamous for his acerbic tongue, Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee was Sunday slammed by politicians and civil society members for making disparaging comments against BJP leader Siddharth Nath Singh, the grandson of late prime minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

Addressing a rally in Chanditala of Hooghly district, Banerjee, the Lok Sabha member from Sreerampore, also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"If Lal Bahadur Shastri knew he would have a grandson like him (Singh), he never would have married. This man - what is his name Siddharth Nath - has never participated in a political movement and only riding on religion has come thus far," Banerjee is seen as saying in a video telecast by Bengali news channels.

"In 2019 polls, the people will slap Modi and send him to a lane in Gandhinagar from where he never will be able to come out," Banerjee also said targeting Modi.

Banerjee's comments have been widely slammed by politicians and civil society members.

"His comments are reflective of Trinamool's political bankruptcy. It seems there is a race amongst the Trinamool leaders on making disparaging comments and using filthy language," said Bharatiya Janata Party national executive member Tathagata Roy.

"Being a people's representative, we MPs and MLAs (legislators) have a responsibility towards the society and should maintain decorum while speaking. By making such comments, he has insulted our former prime minister," state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.

Women activist Miratun Nahar too condemned Banerjee's comments, saying his words tantamount to insulting the late prime minister, who died in harness Jan 11, 1966, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Several Trinamool leaders have been caught in controversies for using unparliamentary language and making hate speeches.

If actor turned politician Tapas Paul faced a national outrage for publicly exhorting Trinamool activists to kill and rape Marxist activists, party legislator from West Bengal's Diamond Harbour Dipak Kumar Halder hit the headlines for the wrong reasons when he claimed "rapes will continue to happen, so long as the earth exists".

Trinamool leaders from Birbhum district Anubrata Mandal and Monirul Islam have been facing murder charges for making hate speeches.