At a time when the chorus of demands for women's security grows louder, the Tiranamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal sparked outrage after some of its party members organized an event involving erotic dancers on Tuesday.
For the TMC's 15th foundation day celebration, party workers organized a vulgar dance show and were seen throwing money at the skimpy-clad dancers.
The event was organised at Bhangore in South 24 Parganas districts right in front of a local police station. It was sponsored by the TMC and organised by Trinamool zila parishad member Meer Taheer Ali, reported IBN Live.
Tuesday's show was one of the many events held across the state to mark the party's foundation day.
The incident was bound to have embarrassed West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief Mamata Banerjee, who strongly demanded for the enactment of stringent punishment for sex offenders in the country.
The incident also drew flak from several sections of society, who condemned the nature of the celebrations at a time when the nation is eclipsed in a sombre mood following the death of the Delhi gang-rape victim on Saturday.
"This is very sad and shocking. This is not the whole culture in Bengal. When so much is happening, when the girl died, you don't expect such things from any political party. When you see these things, you feel very sad. This is not the whole, total face of Bengal. I have never seen any such thing in my life," theatre director and actor Usha Ganguly told NDTV.
It was only when the recording of the event was broadcasted on local television channels at around 11.30 pm did the police swing into action and stopped the show. Authorities claimed that the programme was organised without their permission.
According to NDTV, police stopped the show after they received calls from a leader high in the Trinamool hierarchy.
