NEW DELHI: Through the remark of Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury against President Draupadi Murmu, Congress has laid bare its anti-tribal mentality and we strongly condemn the comment, Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said on Thursday.
โSince the day she was nominated for the post, the Congress party has been making insulting remarks. One Congress spokesperson had said that her selection represents the evil philosophy of India,โ said Rijiju.
Once she was selected for the post, no such comment should have been made against her, Rijiju added.
Union Minister Rijiju reminded us that when Indira Gandhi was elected as prime minister, she was addressed as โPradhanmantriโ, and not as โPradhanmantraniโ.
The law minister demanded that the Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the country. โAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury has been saying that โhe will personally apologise to the president and BJP is making a mountain of the mole hillโ. He is trying to dilute the seriousness of the matterโฆnot only Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury but the entire Congress party and Congress president Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the country,โ Rijiju said.
Union Cabinet minister and former Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal said that Chowdhuryโs comment was an insult to the highest Constitutional post in the country. He added that it was also an insult to the tribal people and all citizens of the country who have deep faith in the democracy of the country.
โThe crime the Congress party had committed, they must apologise to the citizens of this country,โ Sonowal said. He added that through this comment Congress, which has ruled for a long, had exposed the injustices it had committed against the tribals and deprived sections of the society. They have no respect for the tribals.โ
While talking to reporters, Congress Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury addressed President Draupadi Murmu as โRashtrapatniโ. He also refused to retract when a reporter pointed this out to him.
Criticising the Congress party for its comment, Union Minister Bharati Pawar said that those who cannot respect a woman would never be able to respect Bharat Mata. โThe comments of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury have hurt the citizens, Constitution and the pride of the tribal populationโฆSonia Gandhi should apologise for this insulting comment,โ she said.
