Smriti Irani meets Droupadi Murmu amid row over Cong MP's 'rashtrapatni' comment

Smiri Irani, in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, said ever since Droupadi Murmu's name was announced as the presidential candidate, the Congress has been attacking her.

Union minister Smriti Irani on Friday visited the Rashtrapati Bhavan and met newly elected President of India Droupadi Murmu, a day after Irani raised – in the Lok Sabha – the issue of Murmu's insult by Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury who referred to Murmu as 'rashtrapatni' . Smriti Irani paid a visit to Droupadi Murmu along with the ministers of state of her two departments -- Mahendra Munjpara, MoS for Women & Child Development and John Barla, MoS for minority affairs. "Had the privilege of calling upon the Honourable President of India Droupadi Murmu Ji..." Smriti Irani tweeted.

The Union minister on Thursday raised the issue of Adhir Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' comment and held Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi responsible for the insult of Droupadi Murmu, the insult of the highest constitutional post, and the women and tribal of the country.

The uproar in the Lok Sabha turned into a bigger controversy after there was a brief exchange between Sonia Gandhi and Smriti Irani. Two different versions of what happened have emerged with the BJP accusing Sonia Gandhi of intimidating the BJP women MPs and the Congress accusing Smriti Irani of insulting and abusing Sonia Gandhi inside the House.

Adhir Chowdhury on Wednesday addressed President Droupadi Murmu as 'rashtrapatni' as he was giving an interview to a channel about the Congress's protest against the questioning of Sonia Gandhi by the ED. As he said meeting the President was part of their protest plan, he used the word 'rashtrapatni' instead of 'rashtrapati'.

In the wake of the huge backlash, Adhir Chowdhury accepted that it was a mistake and that he was ready to apologise to President Droupadi Murmu personally if she was hurt by the comment.

Published on Jul 29, 2022 11:37 AM IST

By HT News Desk

 | Written by Poulomi Ghosh