Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says 'will apologise to President Murmu, not frauds', seeks meeting

Facing intense criticism for addressing President Droupadi Murmu as 'Rashtrapatni', Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury announced that he had sought time to meet her. Speaking to the media on Thursday, Chowdhury offered to apologise if the President was offended by his remark.

Equating BJP leaders to "frauds", the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha ruled out the possibility of tendering an apology to them. Chowdhury's remark snowballed into a massive controversy with BJP MPs and Ministers in both Houses of Parliament demanding Sonia Gandhi's apology. 

Defending himself again, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury remarked, "If I committed a mistake, I accepted it. Watch my video. I addressed her 'Rashtrapati' three times before calling her 'Rashtrapatni'. It slipped out after I said 'Rashtrapati'. 

The senior Congress leader said, "I am a Bengali and not fluent in Hindi. I will apologise to the President if she felt hurt. I won't apologise to these frauds. I have sought time to meet her the day after tomorrow. When I am called, I will tell you and go."

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stirs controversy

While protesting Sonia Gandhi's questioning by the ED on Wednesday, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressed Murmu as 'Rashtrapati' twice but used 'Rashtrapatni' on the third occasion. Even when a journalist corrected him, he neither withdrew his remarks nor expressed regret.

When confronted by the media earlier in the day, the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha categorically refused to apologise. Ever since Droupadi Murmu's candidature for the Presidential election was announced, many opposition leaders have dubbed her a "puppet" or "rubber stamp" 

Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury stated, "Why should I apologise to BJP? I uttered one word by mistake. I spoke to many journalists yesterday. I never did this. I first said 'Rashtrapati' and then said 'Rashtrapatni'. There is no question of apologising".

He elaborated, "This is a mistake by default. The ruling party is deliberately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill. This is unfortunate. Watch my video. I committed a mistake by default once. So, what should I do? If you want to hang me, do so. But I don't have anything to do with what BJP has said."