The controversy over Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's 'Rashtrapatni' remark refused to abate as BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav on Saturday demanded that Congress chief Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the whole country while Chowdhury should seek forgiveness by touching President Droupadi Murmu's feet.
"The surprising thing is that despite Congress President Sonia Gandhi being a woman, she is protecting Chowdhury rather than take action over the way the statement was made. Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the whole country and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury should apologise by touching the feet of President Murmu," Yadav said while speaking to ANI.
The Rajya Sabha member said Chowdhury had uttered the word 'Rashtrapatni' not once but thrice.
"Adhir Ranjan's statement is a derogatory remark against women. No other abuse can be worse than this. People around the country are criticising him for this act and making different comments about him, which I do not even want to make public," Yadav added.
Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday issued a written apology to President Murmu over his 'Rashtrapatni' remark which caused a political furore across the country.
In a letter addressed to the President, the Congress leader expressed his 'regret for having mistakenly used the word to describe the position.' "I assure you it was a slip of tongue. I apologise and request you to accept the same," Chowdhury wrote in the letter.
The BJP insisted the comment by Chowdhury was not a slip of the tongue as being claimed by the Congress leader.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju toldthat it was not a slip of the tongue. "If you watch the clip, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury clearly (referred to President Murmu as) Rashtrapatni twice, then he called her Rashtrapati. Such matters should not be taken lightly," Rijiju said
On Thursday BJP MPs including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman protested in Parliament against Chowdhury over the remark and demanded an apology from the Congress party.
( With inputs from ANI )
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