Will Apologise To President Not To 'Pakhandis': Adhir Ranjan On Uproar By BJP Over 'Rashtrapatni' Remark

"The President is a teacher and she knows the problem of language, yet if she has been hurt, I will apologise to her myself, not to these hypocrites," Chowdhury said.

Amid the ongoing protest by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark, the latter on Thursday claimed that it was a "slip of tongue" and assured that he would apologise to President Droupadi Murmu. Chowdhury, however, maintained that he would not apologise to these "pakhandis" (hypocrites). 

The senior Congress leader also accused the BJP of making a "mountain out of a molehill" over the issue.

While speaking to ABP News, Chowdhury said, "I am a Bengali and not used to Hindi. I made a mistake, I agree," adding it was nothing but a slip of tongue. Chowdhury also said that the term was used only once by mistake and he never intended any disrespect to the President even as the BJP stalled both Houses of Parliament and asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi to apologise to the nation. 

"I inadvertently used the word 'rashtrapatni' just once and it was a slip of the tongue. I never meant any disrespect to the President. What should I do? I said it and realised I uttered a wrong word. I even looked for mediapersons to request them to not focus on it. However, I couldn't find them," Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said in his defence.

"The President is a teacher and she knows the problem of language, yet if she has been hurt, I will apologise to her myself, not to these hypocrites," he said.

Furthermore, the Congress leader also he has sought time from the President the day after tomorrow and will apologise to her if she has been offended by his inadvertent comments. 

According to reports, Chowdhury's remarks came after he met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in her office in Parliament earlier in the day.

The Congress leader also asked why Sonia Gandhi was being dragged into the controversy. Union ministers Smriti Irani and Nirmala Sitharaman have demanded that Congress president Sonia Gandhi should apologise for Chowdhury's remark.

"Chowdhury's comments were not a slip of tongue. It was a deliberate sexist insult against the President," Sitharaman said while making a brief statement in Rajya Sabha.

Several women BJP MPs, including Union ministers, also held a protest in the Parliament complex against Chowdhury. The minister held placards near gate number one of Parliament House seeking an apology from the Leader of the Congress Party in the Lok Sabha.

(With inputs from Ashish Singh.)