While talking to a journalist, Mr. Adhir Ranjan Choudhary addressed the president as ‘Rashtrapatni’ and not Rashtrapati. Very soon BJP MP’s created ruckus over the remark and targeted Congress party and Party President Ms. Sonia Gandhi.
Ms Sitharaman called it a “deliberate sexist abuse” and demanded that the Congress President apologize on behalf of the party.
Accusations
The Finance Minister, Ms. Sitharaman and Smriti Irani, accused the Congress of “demeaning” President Droupadi Murmu. Moreover, the BJP today demanded an apology from Sonia Gandhi after her party leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called Ms Murmu “Rashtrapatni”.
Smriti Irani
In a development after the remark, Ms. Irani scathed her attack on Sonia Gandhi. She demanded an apology from her. Ms. Irani said, “Sonia Gandhi sanctioned the humiliation of a woman at the highest constitutional office in the country.” Furthermore, she accused Mrs Gandhi as “anti-Adivasi, anti-Dalit, and anti-wom an”.
Nirmala Sitharaman
On the other hand, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman said, it a “deliberate sexist abuse” and demanded that the Congress President apologies on behalf of the party. Moreover, she said, “I demand an apology from the President of Congress party who herself is a woman has allowed her leader to speak like that. Sonia Gandhi should come before the nation and apologize for insulting the President,” the finance minister said in the Lok Sabha.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury
However, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury swiftly clarified saying it was a mere slip of the tongue and the BJP is “making a mountain out of a molehill”. He accused the BJP of distracting from crucial discussions on price rise, GST, the Agnipath scheme, unemployment, and other issues.
Stressing there’s o chance of an apology to the BJP, he said he would personally Ms Murmu and apologize to the President “a hundred times” if she says she was hurt by his remark. He ascribed his “slip of the tongue” to the language barrier, claiming he is a Bengali and not proficient in Hindi as it’s not his mother tongue.
“Whoever is the President of India, be it Brahmin, or Adivasi, the President is the President for us. Our respect is for the post. Yesterday when we were protesting at Vijay Chowk, reporters asked us where we wanted to go. I told them I want to visit the President’s house. Just once, I said “Rashtrapatni”…The reporter repeated it to me and I said I might have said that by mistake and it would be better if they didn’t broadcast it. They (BJP) are creating a furor because of this. I made a mistake, just once and in one word,” Mr Chowdhury said in a video statement posted on his Twitter account.
President Targeted
However, an irate Smriti Irani, alleged that the Congress has been targeting Ms Murmu “maliciously” ever since the BJP-led NDA named her its presidential candidate, and said she was called a “puppet” and a “symbol of evil” by its leaders.
“The Congressman knew that to address the President of India in this way not only demeans her constitutional post but also the rich tribal legacy that she represents.”
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