- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S heated-up political ambience was visible once again on Thursday (28) when senior opposition leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called the country’s newly elected president Droupadi Murmu, a tribal, as “Rastrapatni” instead of ‘Rastrapati’ — the Hindi term for the president.
There was more to the story as Sonia Gandhi, who is the president of the Indian National Congress to which Chowdhury belongs, walked across to a member of the parliament from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). When central minister Smriti Irani intervened, the veteran Congress leader reportedly asked her not to talk to her. Irani had asked Gandhi to apologise for what Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha or Lower House of the parliament, had said about Murmu.
The sharp exchanges took place during a break in the Lok Sabha which was adjourned amid loud protests staged by BJP parliamentarians against both Chowdhury and Gandhi.
Irani, who is the minority affairs and child and women development minister, accused Gandhi of sanctioning the “humiliation” of president Murmu who took oath of office on Monday (25).
“Sonia Gandhi, you sanctioned the humiliation of Droupadi Murmu. Sonia ji sanctioned humiliation of a woman in the highest constitutional post,” Irani said, seeking Gandhi’s apology.
After the Lok Sabha was adjourned, Gandhi, who is being interrogated by India’s Enforcement Directorate in connection to a money-laundering case, walked to the BJP parliamentarians who were shouting slogans, NDTV reported. She was accompanied by two parliamentarians.
She asked Rama Devi, a BJP member, why she was being dragged into the matter when Chowdhury had already apologised, the report added. Irani, at that point of time, stepped in to ask Gandhi whether she could help her as she took the Congress chief’s name. To which, Gandhi reportedly said, “Don’t talk to me”.
More commotion followed in the House over the matter with neither the ruling party nor the opposition refusing to spare the opponent, accusing each other of misconduct.
Indian finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman also targeted Gandhi saying, “Some of our Lok Sabha MPs felt threatened when Sonia Gandhi came up to our senior leader Rama Devi to find out what was happening during which, one of our members approached there and she (Sonia Gandhi) said – You don’t talk to me – putting our MP down in the house. So instead of remorse from the highest leader of the Congress party, we find greater aggression.”
Chowdhury was holding a sit-in protest with other opposition members outside the parliament, something the opposition has been doing against the Narendra Modi government over a range of issues during the ongoing monsoon session of the parliament. When a reporter asked him whether they still had the agenda of marching to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the Indian president, as a part of their protests against the government’s alleged use of central agencies against the opposition parties, he said they were stopped from doing so but would try again on Thursday. “The Rashtrapati of Hindustan… no, the Rashtrapatni ji is for everybody. But not for us?” he asked. The reporter then corrected him saying that it would be better to use the word ‘Rastrapati’ for the president.
In another low, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, condescendingly refers to President Droupadi Murmu as “राष्ट्रपत्नी”. The characterisation is not just sexist but reeks of disdain for a Tribal woman, who has risen from a modest background, to the highest office of land. pic.twitter.com/lsNjwcftWh
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 28, 2022
Chowdhury, who is also the chief of the Congress unit in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, later spoke on the matter saying it was “a slip of tongue”.
“I uttered it only once. It was a slip of tongue. The entire issue is being blown out of proportion by the BJP and an unnecessary controversy is being raked up,” he said. He also appealed to the speaker of the Lok Sabha to give him an opportunity to speak on the matter in the House.
He also posted a video later clarifying his remark.
“Whom should I apologise to?” he asked in reply to the questions of journalists about whether he will say sorry for the ‘rashtrapatni’ comment. “To BJP? Why should I apologise to the BJP? Who is BJP? It was a slip up which I already mentioned yesterday. I talked to many media persons yesterday, but only one media did it,” he said.
#AdhirChoudhury 's Clarification on #Rastrapatni remark ! What more BJP wants ? pic.twitter.com/wV2W0xYJSj
— Vasundhra Chauhan Agniveer (@Dilsedesh) July 28, 2022
