'Slip of tongue': Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury states in written apology to President over 'Rashtrapatni' remark
New Delhi/IBNS: Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has submitted a written apology to President Droupadi Murmu for calling her "Rashtrapatni" in a media interview earlier this week.
"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 wrote in a letter to Murmu, the country's first President belonging to the tribal community.
The BJP had also demanded an apology from Congress President Sonia Gandhi over the remark.
Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, had used the "Rashtrapatni" remark while talking to reporters during his party's protests over a host of issues.
On Thursday, the comment triggered a massive row in Lok Sabha following which the house was adjourned as BJP MPs clamoured for an apology by both Sonia Gandhi and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury.
The BJP, meanwhile, insisted that the comment by Chowdhury was not a slip of the tongue as claimed by the Congress leader.
"It was not a slip of tongue. If you watch the clip, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury clearly (referred to President Murmu as) Rashtrapati twice, then he called her Rashtrapatni," Law Minister Kiren Rijiju told news agency ANI.
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