Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 20 (IANS): Under fire over his objectionable utterances against opposition MLA K.K. Rema of the Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP), veteran CPI-M legislator M.M. Mani on Wednesday tendered an apology and withdrew the remarks in the Assembly.

The Congress-led UDF had taken a strong objection to it in the floor of the House.

The former state minister withdrew the remark after Speaker M.B.Rajesh denounced it.

"As a Communist, I should not have made this remark and I withdraw it," said Mani as he apologised for his insensitive comments.

Rema expressed her happiness at the veteran leader withdrawing the remark.

Incidentally, after making this remark on July 14, Mani stuck to it for next two days and staunchly defended it.

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, including three local CPI-M leaders, were sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the killing.

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.

On Saturday, Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan said it's Vijayan who is supporting Mani.

"Vijayan's continued anger towards Chandrashekeran is becoming more visible and he just cannot tolerate Rema. But we, the Congress-led UDF, will strongly support Rema and will always be there for her," he said.

Notably, last Thursday during an argument, the former State Minister had slammed Rema. In a fit of rage he went to the extent of saying that it was her fate that she became a widow and that the CPI-M or the Left had no role in it.

He came under criticism following the incident.