TMC MP Tapas Pal threatens to kill CPI-M workers, have their women raped

July 1, 2014

Kolkata, Jul 1: In an insensitive comment, TMC MP Tapas Pal has threatened to kill opposition CPI-M workers and have their women raped if a single ruling party worker was attacked.

The controversial comment triggered an uproar and sparked condemnation by opposition parties with CPI-M demanding that the Lok Sabha Speaker take suo motu cognisance of Pal's outburst and disqualify him.

"If any CPI-M man is present here. Listen to me. If you ever touch any Trinamool Congress worker or their families at Choumaha, you have to pay for this. Don't try to act smart with me. I am smarter than you. I am not from Kolkata," Pal said in a video of his speech at Choumaha village in Nadia district which surfaced on a vernacular TV news channel and went viral.

"I am from Chandannagar. Leaders are created by workers. I am also a goonda. I will shoot you guys if a Trinamool Congress worker is ever attacked. If you have the guts, then stop me. Keep this is in mind," the actor-politician warned.

"Earlier, you guys have bullied me on various occasions. If you insult the mothers and daughters of Trinamool workers. Then I won't spare you. I will let loose my boys in your homes and they will commit rape. I will teach each of you a lesson," Pal said.

Pal, however, denied that he spoke about rape. "What I said was I will tell my workers to 'raid'."

Trinamool national spokesperson Derek O'Brien said the party doest not endorse Pal's statement which was "insensitive" whatever be the provocation.

"The statements made by Mr Tapas Pal are utterly insensitive. The party does not in any way endorse what he said many weeks ago, which is being played out on TV channels today," he added. O'Brien said Pal's speech was made in May.

CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said the Lok Sabha Speaker should take immediate steps to cancel Pal's member. Her party colleague Md Salim said Pal's threat showed the extent of "lawlessness" in TMC-ruled West Bengal.

Kiran Bedi, an activist, said the MP should be booked by police and arrested. Pal's comment was also condemned by the Congress and the National Commission for Women(NCW).

Senior TMC leader and Education minister Partha Chatterjee said that the party did not approve of the MP's statement.

"We never approve use of such words. He should have exercised restraint before using such words. Even if the words used by him were out of excitement, it is not justified; not at all for an MP. ..

"But it has to be seen under what circumstances he has used such words. The opposition must have created such a situation after which there has been such an outburst."

"I will certainly talk to him when I meet him and try to ascertain why did he made such comments," Chatterjee said.

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‘Pay the worker before his sweat dries’: Madras High Court cites Prophet Muhammad’s teaching while ordering settlement of dues

News Network

December 21,2025

Invoking the teachings of Prophet Muhammad—“pay the worker before his sweat dries”—the Madras High Court has directed a municipal corporation to settle long-pending legal dues owed to a former counsel. The court observed that this principle reflects basic fairness and applies equally to labour and service-related disputes.

Justice G. R. Swaminathan made the observation while hearing a petition filed by advocate P. Thirumalai, who claimed that the Madurai City Municipal Corporation failed to pay him legal fees amounting to ₹13.05 lakh. Earlier, the High Court had asked the corporation to consider his representation. However, a later order rejected a major portion of his claim, prompting the present petition.

The court allowed Thirumalai to approach the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) and submit a list of cases in which he had appeared. It also directed the corporation to settle the verified fee bills within two months, without interest. The court noted that the petitioner had waited nearly 18 years before challenging the non-payment and that the corporation could not be fully blamed, as the fee bills were not submitted properly.

‘A Matter of Embarrassment’

Justice Swaminathan described it as a “matter of embarrassment” that the State has nearly a dozen Additional Advocate Generals. He observed that appointing too many law officers often leads to unnecessary allocation of work and frequent adjournments, as government counsel claim that senior officers are engaged elsewhere.

He expressed hope that such practices would end at least in the Madurai Bench of the High Court and added that Additional Advocate Generals should “turn a new leaf” from 2026 onwards.

‘Scandalously High Amounts’

While stating that the court cannot examine the exact fees paid to senior counsel or law officers, Justice Swaminathan stressed that good governance requires public funds to be used prudently. He expressed concern over the “scandalously high amounts” paid by government and quasi-government bodies to a few favoured law officers.

In contrast, the court noted that Thirumalai’s total claim was “a pittance” considering the large number of cases he had handled.

Background

Thirumalai served as the standing counsel for the Madurai City Municipal Corporation for more than 14 years, from 1992 to 2006. During this period, he represented the corporation in about 818 cases before the Madurai District Courts.

As the former counsel was unable to hire a clerk to obtain certified copies of judgments in all 818 cases, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to collect the certified copies within two months. The court further ordered the corporation to bear the cost incurred by the DLSA and deduct that amount from the final settlement payable to the petitioner.

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