After facing backlash over his "Rashtrapatni" remark, Congress MP Adhir Chowdhury on Thursday stated that it was a "slip of the tongue." He further alleged that the BJP was making a "mountain out of a molehill" over the issue.
Adhir Chowdhury made the remark while protesting the ED's interrogation of Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case. Adhir Chowdhury responded to a question on the Congress's planned march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan by saying, "Yes, we will visit the Rashtrapati Bhavan. India's rashtrapati, no rashtrapatni, is for all."
Earlier, while speaking with ANI, Congress MP said, "There is no question of apologising. I had mistakenly said 'Rashtrapatni', now if you want to hang me for it, then you can...the ruling party in a deliberate design trying to make mountain out of a molehill,"
The BJP earlier today accused the Congress of "demeaning" President Droupadi Murmu and demanding an apology after its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury referred to her as "rashtrapatni."
Smriti Irani, a Union minister, said Chowdhury used the word knowing full well that it demeans Murmu and her job and is contrary to Indian principles.
She told reporters that Congress should apologise to the President and the country.
Meanwhile, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi said, "He has already apologised."
"A tribal woman from a poor family who created history is being continuously demeaned by the Congress," she was quoted by PTI in its report.
Droupadi Murmu has been attacked intentionally by Congress since she was nominated for the presidency, and the assaults do not appear to have stopped even after she was elected President, according to Smriti Irani.
"Adhir Chowdhury addressed her as Rashtrapatni knowing well that this humiliates the highest constitutional post. The country knows that the Congress in anti-tribal, anti-Dait and anti-women," she said.
Inside Parliament, female MPs, notably Nirmala Sitharaman, condemned Adhir Chowdhury's remark, seeking an apology from the party.
(With Inputs From Agencies)