New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday accused the Congress of “demeaning” President Droupadi Murmu and demanded its apology after its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called her “Rashtrapatni”.
Union minister Smriti Irani said Chowdhury used the term knowing well that it demeans Murmu and her office and is against India’s values.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury apologised for his comment, calling it ‘A mere slip of the tongue.’ He said that the BJP of distracting the assembly from talking about issues like price rise, the Agnipath scheme and unemployment.
As BJP demanded an apology, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi remarked that Chowdhury had already done so. Reacting to Gandhi’s statement, Irani charged that the former “sanctioned the humiliation of a woman at the highest constitutional office in the country.”
Irani passionately called Gandhi an “anti-Adivasi, anti-Dalit, and anti-woman”.
The Congress should apologise to the President and the country, Irani told reporters.
“The Congress is continuously demeaning a tribal woman from a poor family who created history,” she told reporters.
Chowdhury is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and used the remark while talking to the media during his party’s protests over various issues.
Irani alleged that the Congress has been targeting her “maliciously” ever since the BJP-led NDA named Murmu its presidential candidate, and said she was called a “puppet” and a “symbol of evil” by its leaders.
The attacks do not seem to stop even after her election to the highest constitutional office of the country, the BJP leader said.
Chowdhury’s comment is also demeaning to the rich tribal legacy she represents and to the poor who rise through hard work.
The President is called “Rashtrapati” in Hindi.
Murmu, India’s first tribal President, had led a life of struggle and represents the country’s aspirations from panchayat to Parliament, Irani said and charged that the Congress under its president Sonia Gandhi has repeatedly targeted women.
(The story has been edited with inputs from Siasat’s News Desk.)
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