Facing huge uproar over his addressing of the President of India Droupadi Murmu as ‘rashtrapatni’, Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury on Thursday said it was a mistake, but there is no question of apologising to the BJP. “Will I be hanged now for that one word? Hang me then,” the Congress leader said inside the Parliament complex. Both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha were adjourned amid BJP’s protest against Adhir Chowdhury’s word.
“Whom should I apologise to?” he asked in reply to the questions of journalists about whether he will say sorry for the ‘rashtrapatni’ comment. “To BJP? Why should I apologise to the BJP? Who is BJP? It was a slip up which I already mentioned yesterday. I talked to many media persons yesterday, but only one media did it,” Adhir Chowdhury said in the Parliament complex.
Talking about the ‘mistake’, he said he was answering to media questions about the party’s protest plan. “Our protest was going on for the second day. I said the same thing earlier too that we wanted to go to Rashtrapati Bhavan. But yesterday as I was speaking, I uttered the word ‘rashtrapatni’ by mistake. First I said Rashtrapati,” Adhir Chowdhury said.
“Soon after that, the journalist left the place. I tried to look for him but could not find him because I would have clarified then and there that it was a mistake,” Chowdhury added.
“We know that the President of India — whethet a Brahmin, or a Muslim, or a tribal — is the constitutional head for all of us. But now if a word suddenly comes out of my mouth, what can I do? It happened just once. But BJP members are deliberately trying to make a mountain of molehill,” the Congress leader said.
Calling the row ‘unfortunate’, Adhir Chowdhury said, “Listen to my words. Watch the video, no. What to do? Will you now hang me? Do then. It does not matter what BJP says or does.”
In another low, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, condescendingly refers to President Droupadi Murmu as “राष्ट्रपत्नी”. The characterisation is not just sexist but reeks of disdain for a Tribal woman, who has risen from a modest background, to the highest office of land.
BJP’s Amit Malviya shared a video clip of a television channel where Adhir Chowdhury’s ‘rashtrapatni ji’ comment was telecast. As he was talking about visiting the Rashtrapati Bhavan against ED questioning Sonia Gandhi in the National Herald case, he said, “The Rashtraptiji is for everyone. Rashtrapati ji, no rashtrapatni ji, is for everyone.”