New Delhi/IBNS: Several Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs on Thursday protested against Union Minister Giriraj Singh's comment on West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's shaking of legs at the inauguration ceremony of 29th Kolkata International Film Festival (KIFF), calling it "misogynistic".

The MPs protested near Mahatma Gandhi's statue in Parliament premise.

During the 29th KIFF inauguration in Kolkata, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan had requested Mamata Banerjee to join him and other guests to shake her legs to the festival theme song, which was playing in the background.

Though Mamata resisted initially, she later joined the actors and tried to give them her company.

In an interview on Wednesday, Singh, who is the Rural Development Minister, commented on Mamata's "dance" and said, "Jashn mana rahi hai, thumke laga rahi hai, yeh uchit nahi hai (she is celebrating and dancing. This is not right)."

Later, he refused to acknowledge uttering the word "thumke".

Facing flak, Singh said, "You can see my tweet, I have said that Mamata Didi, the state that is suffering from corruption and where the rights of the poor are being snatched, you're making 'Jashn' there. Is saying 'Jashn' similar to 'thumka'?"

Slamming Singh, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, who was protesting on Thursday, said, "It is absolutely shameful, misogynistic and patriarchal. Shameless Giriraj Singh and BJP cannot handle women in power and in authority."

Reacting to Singh's remark, Mamata told reporters, "I don't know how to dance. I dance with tribals to support them. I was almost forced to dance (by the actors on stage). So I did it out of respect for Bollywood."