Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark a deliberate sexist insult against President Murmu: Sitharaman
Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark a deliberate sexist insult against President Murmu: Sitharaman
New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday said that Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury calling the President "rashtrapatni' was not a slip of tongue, but was a deliberate sexist insult against Droupadi Murmu.
Demanding an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi for Chowdhury's comments, Sitharaman said, "Chowdhury's comments were not a slip of tongue. It was a deliberate sexist insult against the President."
The Union Minister said at a time the entire country is rejoicing at the selection of a self-made woman from a tribal background as the President, "for the leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha to call her 'rashtrapatni' in a 'pati-patni' (husband-wife) kind of a level, has insulted the President of India."
Sitharaman, who just recovered from COVID-19 infection, further said, "I demand an apology from the president of the Congress party who herself is a woman."
"Sonia Gandhi appointed Chowdhury as the leader in Lok Sabha to speak and he has insulted the President," she said.
"Smt Sonia Gandhi should come before the nation and apologise to the Rashtrapati and also to the entire country for the insult by her own leader in Lok Sabha," Sitharaman said.
Chouwdhry's comments were not a "slip of the tongue but a deliberate ploy to insult" the President and it is unacceptable, she added.
Rajya Sabha Chairman and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu said, "Nobody is supposed to make any derogatory comments against the President of India."
"Making such comments is bad," he said. "I don't know why it has happened and it is wrong."
He said President was discussed even in the Constituent Assembly and Rashtrapati was a settled title to be used.
With inputs from agencies
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