State Congress president's comments trigger controversy

Agartala, July 12 (UNI) Left Front-backed Women Bodies and Students' Unions and a number of women-run NGOs here today organised a protest rally against the alleged derogatory statement on female students made by Tripura Pradesh Congress President and former Chief Minister Samir Ranjan Barman.

Women activists and the Students' Federation of India (SFI) have been organising mass conventions and protest rallies against Mr Barman for the past three days, demanding his removal from the legislative assembly, while asking him to seek unconditional apology in public.

Tripura PCC president Samir Ranjan Barman at a rally recently at Pabiacherra in North Tripura had allegedly said, ''In the Left Front regime, women can bag jobs only if they sleep with CPM leaders and girls have to physically entertain CPM leaders to secure high positions on the merit list.'' The senior Congress leaders have also expressed annoyance over the comment and sent copies of the report to party President Sonia Gandhi, seeking Mr Barman's dismissal.

Meanwhile, in a statement here today Mr Barman denied the report in the newspapers, saying ''The main spirit of my statement was to alert the students against the social evils because there are several incidents happening in the state where school girls are utilised or raped by the CPI(M) leaders and a section of teachers.'' He had also said that his speech was intentionally distorted and misinterpreted to achieve narrow political interests.

UNI