Political row over 'rashtrapatni' remark reverberates inside, outside Parliament

Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury wrote to President Droupadi Murmu on Friday and apologised to her for his ''rashtrapatni'' remark after the political storm over it escalated.

The Congress also upped the ante on Union minister Smriti Irani over the alleged heckling of party chief Sonia Gandhi by her and other BJP MPs, and organised protests inside and outside Parliament, demanding that she be sacked for her behaviour.

As both the ''rashtrapatni'' remark and the Sonia-Smriti face-off issues reverberated, the Opposition and the ruling party traded charges against each other.

In his written apology to Murmu, Chowdhury said it was a slip of the tongue and he used the word mistakenly.

''I am writing to express my regret for having mistakenly used an incorrect word to describe the position you hold. I assure you that it was a slip of the tongue. I apologise and request you to accept the same,'' he wrote to the president.

Chowdhury also wrote to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, alleging that the manner in which Irani took the name of Murmu in the House amounted to degrading the status of the president's office, and demanded that her remarks be expunged.

He also appealed to Birla that since Gandhi had nothing to do with the controversy, the entire episode mentioning her name may also be expunged from the House proceedings.

Chowdhury's apology has set the tone for defusing the situation and sources said according to a broad understanding with the Opposition, the Lok Sabha is likely to take up a discussion on price rise on Monday and the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. The last week has seen disruptions by the Opposition over the issue.

Both houses of Parliament were stalled on Friday after an uproar by Opposition members against Gandhi's alleged heckling, even as the treasury benches continued to demand an apology from the Congress chief over Chowdhury's remark.

The Opposition MPs also protested outside Mahatma Gandhi's statue in the Parliament complex and raised slogans against the government, demanding the sacking of Irani from the Union cabinet. They also shared Irani's remarks made in the Lok Sabha, alleging that she showed disrespect to the president.

The Congress MPs were joined by their colleagues from the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), among others.

Both the houses failed to transact any business on Friday.

In the Rajya Sabha, while the Opposition MPs stormed the Well demanding action against Irani and on deaths in Gujarat due to consumption of illicit liquor, the ruling party members were on their feet demanding an apology from Chowdhury.

The Congress members in the Lok Sabha were in the Well of the House raising slogans against the government, while BJP members and Union ministers, including Sarbananda Sonowal, were on their feet demanding an apology from Gandhi.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, urging him to expunge the remarks made by Union ministers Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal on Gandhi in the House on Thursday.

Both Sitharaman and Goyal had demanded an apology from Gandhi over Chowdhury's ''rashtrapatni'' remark, alleging that the Congress has insulted the president.

Kharge said according to parliamentary practices and conventions, critical remarks should not be made on the other House or the members of the other House.

He also cited a ruling made by former Rajya Sabha chairman R Venkataraman on April 15, 1987, wherein no person who is not a member of the House can be referred to in the House in a derogatory manner.

The senior Congress leader said even the question of privilege cannot be raised directly in one House against the members of the other House.

''I request you to kindly expunge the remarks made by Nirmala Sitharaman and Piyush Goyal vis-a-vis Sonia Gandhi in the House yesterday, 28 July, 2022. I also request that they tender their apology for their violation of sacrosanct conventions of the House,'' Kharge said in his letter to the chairman.

Some Opposition leaders, including the Samajwadi Party's (SP) Ram Gopal Yadav and Jaya Bachchan, also came out in support of Gandhi over the behaviour meted out to her. Other Opposition MPs -- NCP's Supriya Sule, TMC's Mahua Moitra and Shiv Sena's Priyanka Chaturvedi -- have already extended their support to Gandhi.

The Congress MPs earlier met in the Parliament complex and decided on their strategy at a meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party chaired by Gandhi, after which they caused disruptions in both houses of Parliament.

The row erupted with Chowdhury calling Murmu ''rashtrapatni'' and the Congress accusing BJP MPs of subjecting its chief to ''brutal heckling, verbal assault and physical intimidation'' in the Lok Sabha.

As the Lok Sabha adjourned after 12 noon on Thursday, Gandhi walked across to BJP member Rama Devi and asked her why she was being dragged into the issue.

Irani intervened and was seen gesturing towards Gandhi and apparently protesting against Chowdhury's remark. Gandhi tried to ignore Irani's protestations, but was soon seen gesturing towards the minister and speaking angrily.