Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 15 (IANS): While the leaders of the ruling CPI-M in Kerala, including Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, didn't seem to find anything wrong in the statement made by senior party legislator M.M. Mani on the floor of the Assembly against a woman legislator, the Congress-led opposition staged a protest during the ongoing Assembly session on Friday, cutting short the day's proceedings.

Mani, a former state Electricity Minister, had on Thursday slammed opposition MLA K.K. Rema of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), stating that it was her fate that she became a widow and the CPI-M or the Left had no role in it.

Even though the opposition on Thursday slammed Mani for his remarks, what surprised many was the way Vijayan defended Mani when he said that there was nothing wrong in what he said.

On Friday, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan demanded an apology from Mani for his remarks. But while Law Minister P. Rajeev defended Mani, Speaker M.B. Rajesh expressed his inability to find a solution.

"Mani's statement was totally unwarranted and the response from Vijayan was totally unexpected. They just cannot be accepted," Satheesan said.

Rema, who won the election with the support of the Congress-led UDF, is the widow of former CPI-M leader Chandrasekheran, who was brutally murdered by a group of attackers near his house in Kozhikode in 2012.

Chandrasekheran had left the party in 2008 and formed his own party, the Revolutionary Marxist Party.

Eleven people were sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with Chandrasekheran's killing, of which three were local CPI-M leaders.

Even after the brutal murder of her husband with the alleged knowledge of the CPI-M top brass, Vijayan had called him a 'renegade', a remark that had come under huge attack from numerous quarters.

Reacting to the developments, Rema said it was not a slip of tongue and the remarks were made purposefully.

"Just see the response of Vijayan... it clearly shows the intolerance of the CPI-M towards us. It's very clear that Chandrasekheran was eliminated by the CPI-M," said Rema.

Incidentally, Mani on Friday appeared to have no remorse over his remarks against Rema.

"When I was speaking, someone from the opposition called out saying that she is a widow. To which I said yes, that's her fate and we have no role in it. It was a spontaneous remark and I don't find anything wrong in it. For long she has been attacking the Chief Minister and has been critical of our government," said Mani.

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Kerala State Women's Commission, P. Sathidevi, who's also a CPI-M leader and former Lok Sabha member, maintained silence on the matter.

State BJP chief K. Surendran said that trying to correct Mani is like pouring water to an electric post as he is that kind of a person who will utter anything and everything.

However, CPI leaders like its Rajya Sabha member Binoy Viswan and senior leader Annie Raja have condemned the statement of Mani.