The parties across the political spectrum in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday strongly condemned a BJP youth wing leader Yogesh Varshney's purported remark announcing a Rs 11 lakh bounty to anyone who beheads the Trinamul's West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

As the Opposition parties demanded action against Varshney, the BJP-led central government told Parliament that the Trinamul-led Bengal government was "free to take legal action" against him.

The issue was raked up in both Houses by the Trinamul MPs, with all major political parties and the government coming together to condemn the hate remark.

In the Rajya Sabha, the Deputy Chairman P J Kurien said the Bengal government could register an FIR and take action in the case. 

Raising the matter in the Upper House, the Trinamul member Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said a BJP youth activist has publicly described Mamata as a "demon" and announced Rs 11 lakh bounty for anyone who brings her head to him.

Roy asked the Rajya Sabha and the government to condemn it, accusing the Centre of allegedly trying to

"unleash a reign of terror" in West Bengal in the name of religion among other things.

The Left and other Opposition parties also supported the Trinamul on the matter.

The minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: "I strongly condemn such type of statements. State government is free to take appropriate legal action on this issue".

The BSP chief Mayawati and the Congress leader Digvijay Singh demanded that the BJP should take action against its youth wing leader. Describing Varshney's controversial remark as a "serious matter", Mayawati

said, "BJP should not just condemn the statement, but should also take action."

The SP member Jaya Bachchan said there is a need to take "aggressive" steps for protection of women. "You can protect cows, but women are facing atrocities," she told the government. Asking how could a political activist make such remarks, especially against a woman CM, she asked, "Is this the way you are going to protect women?"

The BJP member Roopa Ganguly said she too is a woman and that she had allegedly been beaten up by "goons" led by the Mamata-headed Trinamul in front of policemen because of which she had been bed-ridden for 3 months. "The Bengal CM, who is also a woman, should answer this," Roopa said.

In the Lok Sabha, the Trinamul leader Saugata Roy raised the issue, saying that the BJP youth wing leader had made the bounty remark against the Bengal CM following police action on a BJP rally in Birbhum on Hanuman Jayanti.   

Expressing serious concern, Saugata demanded "all possible action" from the  Centre against activists making such provocative announcements.

He was backed by other Opposition parties, with the Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge demanding "strong action" from the Narendra Modi government on the matter.

The parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar said the governemnt condemned such remarks against the Bengal CM. 

The Speaker Sumitra Mahajan said there have been many unpleasant instances in recent political discourse

and that everyone must work together to correct it. "Such a trend is wrong. Everyone should maintain restraint," she added.