Adhir Ranjan’s written apology to President Murmu amid ‘Rashtrapatni’ remark row

Congress Lok Sabha MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who has stoked a controversy by calling newly elected President Droupadi Murmu “Rashtrapatni”, issued an apology in a letter to her on Friday, claiming that it was a “slip of the 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,” the Congress Lok Sabha MP wrote.

Known for making contentious remarks, Chowdhury called Murmu, the first tribal and only the second woman President of India, ‘Rashtrapatni’ in a TV interview on Wednesday, sparking a massive uproar in Parliament.

Hitting out, Union ministers Smriti Irani, Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal demanded an apology from the Congress leader and its president Sonia Gandhi. Gandhi said that Chowdhury had already apologised.

The ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament witnessed adjournments in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha over the ‘Rashtrapatni’ remark.

Issuing a clarification, Chowdhury said he had mistakenly used the remark and never intended any disrespect to President Murmu.

“I inadvertently used the word ‘Rashtrapatni’ just once and it was a slip of the tongue. I never meant any disrespect to the president,” Chowdhury told reporters on Thursday.

“What should I do? I said it and realised I uttered a wrong word. I even looked for media persons to who I had said this to – to request them to not focus on it. However, I couldn’t find them. Some ruling party members, the Congress leader added, are “deliberately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill,” Ranjan added.