`Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressed President as RASHTRAPATNI, country KNOWS...`, Smriti Irani TARGETS Congress again

Smriti Irani alleged that the Congress has been targeting President Murmu `maliciously` ever since the BJP-led NDA named her its presidential candidate, and said she was called a `puppet` and a `symbol of evil` by its leaders

New Delhi: The Union minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Smriti Irani on Thursday (July 28, 2022) hit out at Congress for "demeaning" President Droupadi Murmu and demanded an apology after its leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury called her "rashtrapatni". The Union minister said Chowdhury used the term knowing well that it demeans Murmu and her office and is against India's values. The Congress should apologise to the President and the country, Smriti Irani said while talking to the reporters. 

"A tribal woman from a poor family who created history is being continuously demeaned by the Congress," she said. 

Irani alleged that the Congress has been targeting her "maliciously" ever since the BJP-led NDA named Murmu its presidential candidate, and said she was called a "puppet" and a "symbol of evil" by its leaders.

The BJP leader highlighted that the attacks do not seem to stop even after her election to the highest constitutional office of the country. 

“Under Sonia Gandhi's leadership, Congressmen continue to demean the women in constitutional posts. Congress for demeaning the first tribal President of our country needs to apologise in Parliament and on the streets of India,” said Smriti Irani. 

“Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressed Pres Droupadi Murmu as 'Rashtrapatni' knowing that this humiliates the dignity of that highest constitutional post. The country knows that Congress is anti-tribal, anti-Dalit and anti-women,” Smriti Irani added.

Chowdhury is the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha and used the remark while talking to the media during his party's protests over a host of issues. Chowdhury's comment is also demeaning to the rich tribal legacy she represents and to the poor who rise through hard work. The President is called "rashtrapati" in Hindi.

Murmu, India's first tribal President, had led a life of struggle and represents the country's aspirations from panchayat to Parliament, Irani said and charged that the Congress under its president Sonia Gandhi has repeatedly targeted women.

(With agency inputs)