'Rashtrapatni remark a slip of the tongue': Adhir apologises to President Murmu as Congress ups the ante against Irani
NEW DELHI: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday tendered a written apology to President Droupadi Murmu for his 'rashtrapatni' remark, a day after a political storm erupted over it.
In his letter to the President, he said he mistakenly used an incorrect word for her and it was a slip of tongue.
"I am writing to express my regret for having mistakenly used an incorrect word to describe the position you hold. I assure you that it was a slip of the tongue. I apologise and request you to accept the same," Chowdhury said in his letter to the President.
While talking to reporters during a protest at Vijay chowk on Wednesday, Chowdhury had used the word 'rashtrapatni" for President Murmu, which created a major political row with the ruling BJP raising the issue in Parliament, demanding an apology from him and Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
With the BJP launching a massive offensive against him and Gandhi, Chowdhury said he had sought time from President Murmu and he would apologise to her personally and not to "pakhandis" (hypocrites) of the BJP.
However, it was not clear whether the President had given him time.
Proceedings in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been disrupted for the second day in a row over the remark and BJP leaders have been saying that Chowdhury would have to apologise.
The row also led to a face-off in Lok Sabha between Gandhi and Union minister Smriti Irani following which the Congress leaders accused BJP MPs including Irani of subjecting its chief to "brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation" in the lower house.
Chowdhury wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Friday, alleging that the manner in which Union minister Smriti Irani took the name of President Droupadi Murmu in the House amounted to degrading the status of that office, and demanded that her remarks be expunged.
Referring to the row over his "rashtrapatni" remark, Chowdhury said he wants to clear the air over the "unnecessary and unwanted" parliamentary deadlock.
He said he has the highest regard for Murmu and that the controversy erupted because of a "mere slip of tongue on my part".
"This error occurred because my mother tongue is Bengali and I am not well-versed with Hindi.
It is really very sad that Madam Rashtrapati Ji's name is being unnecessarily dragged in order to gain cheap publicity and political one-upmanship by the ruling party," the Congress leader said.
He also appealed to Birla that since Congress chief Sonia Gandhi had nothing to do with the controversy, the entire episode mentioning her name may also be expunged from the House proceedings.
Talking to reporters during a protest at Vijay Chowk here on Wednesday, Chowdhury had used the word "rashtrapatni" for Murmu, which triggered a major row, with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) raising the issue in Parliament and demanding an apology from him and the Congress president.
In his letter to Birla, Chowdhury also said the manner in which Irani took Murmu's name in the House was neither proper nor in consonance with the status and position of the president.
"She was yelling 'Droupadi Murmu' repeatedly without prefixing Hon'ble President or Madam or Smt. before the Hon'ble President's name. This clearly amounts to degrading the stature of the office of the Hon'ble President."
"Therefore, I demand that the way Smt. Smriti Irani was addressing the Hon'ble President may be expunged from the proceedings of the House," he said, in an apparent reference to the Lok Sabha proceedings on Thursday.
Chowdhury asserted that Gandhi had nothing to do with the "unfortunate episode", yet Irani and the BJP "deliberately dragged her name in this controversy".
He alleged that Irani behaved "very inappropriately" with Gandhi and used "derogatory words".
"Sonia Gandhi was subjected to verbal assault and physical intimidation and the ruling party ended up creating a hostile environment for her in the House which is unprecedented in the history of Parliament," the Congress leader said.
"I appeal to you that since Smt. Sonia Gandhi Ji had nothing to do with this controversy, the entire episode mentioning her name may also be expunged," he added.
Chowdhury also tendered a written apology to Murmu on Friday for his "rashtrapatni" remark.
The Congress also upped the ante on Union minister Smriti Irani over the alleged heckling of party chief Sonia Gandhi by her and other BJP MPs, and organised protests inside and outside Parliament, demanding that she be sacked for her behaviour.
As both the "rashtrapatni" remark and the Sonia-Smriti face-off issues reverberated, the Opposition and the ruling party traded charges against each other.
Chowdhury also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that the manner in which Irani took the name of Murmu in the House amounted to degrading the status of the president's office, and demanded that her remarks be expunged.
He also appealed to Birla that since Gandhi had nothing to do with the controversy, the entire episode mentioning her name may also be expunged from the House proceedings.
Chowdhury's apology has set the tone for defusing the situation and sources said according to a broad understanding with the Opposition, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up a discussion on price rise on Monday and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.
The last week has seen disruptions by the Opposition over the issue.
Both houses of Parliament were stalled on Friday after an uproar by Opposition members against Gandhi's alleged heckling, even as the treasury benches continued to demand an apology from the Congress chief over Chowdhury's remark.
The Opposition MPs also protested outside Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the government, demanding the sacking of Irani from the Union cabinet.
They also shared Irani's remarks made in the Lok Sabha, alleging that she showed disrespect to the president.
The Congress MPs were joined by their colleagues from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), among others.
Both the houses failed to transact any business on Friday.
In the Rajya Sabha, while the Opposition MPs stormed the Well demanding action against Irani and on deaths in Gujarat due to consumption of illicit liquor, the ruling party members were on their feet demanding an apology from Chowdhury.
The Congress members in the Lok Sabha were in the Well of the House raising slogans against the government, while BJP members and Union ministers, including Sarbananda Sonowal, were on their feet demanding an apology from Gandhi.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, urging him to expunge the remarks made by Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal on Gandhi in the House on Thursday.
Both Sitharaman and Goyal had demanded an apology from Gandhi over Chowdhury's "rashtrapatni" remark, alleging that Congress has insulted the president.
Kharge said according to parliamentary practices and conventions, critical remarks should not be made on the other House or the members of the other House.
He also cited a ruling made by former Rajya Sabha chairman R Venkataraman on April 15, 1987, wherein no person who is not a member of the House can be referred to in the House in a derogatory manner.
The senior Congress leader said even the question of privilege cannot be raised directly in one House against the members of the other House.
"I request you to kindly expunge the remarks made by Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal vis-a-vis Sonia Gandhi in the House yesterday, 28 July, 2022. I also request that they tender their apology for their violation of sacrosanct conventions of the House," Kharge said in his letter to the chairman.
Some Opposition leaders, including the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ram Gopal Yadav and Jaya Bachchan, also came out in support of Gandhi over the behaviour meted out to her.
Other Opposition MPs -- NCP's Supriya Sule, TMC's Mahua Moitra and Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi -- have already extended their support to Gandhi.
The Congress MPs earlier met in the Parliament complex and decided on their strategy at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party chaired by Gandhi, after which they caused disruptions in both houses of Parliament.
The row erupted with Chowdhury calling Murmu "rashtrapatni" and the Congress accusing BJP MPs of subjecting its chief to "brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation" in the Lok Sabha.
As the Lok Sabha adjourned after 12 noon on Thursday, Gandhi walked across to BJP member Rama Devi and asked her why she was being dragged into the issue.
Irani intervened and was seen gesturing towards Gandhi and apparently protesting against Chowdhury's remark.
Gandhi tried to ignore Irani's protestations, but was soon seen gesturing towards the minister and speaking angrily.