'Let's move on, far graver issues in the country': Shashi Tharoor on 'Rashtrapatni' row

In the wake of the ongoing row over the "Rashtrapatni" remark, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said it was a slip of tongue and that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had no bad intention. The Thiruvananthapuram MP said we must move on, adding that there are far graver issues in the country.

"Before entering Parliament, Adhir said he made a mistake, it was a slip of tongue & he had no bad intention. But he wasn't allowed to speak. When someone seeks time before Ques Hr, Speaker tell them to sit & that they'll get time during Zero Hr," Tharoor said.

He added, "But when Smriti Irani started speaking, nobody stopped her. She spoke for 10 minutes. They should've allowed the person, whose name came up, to respond. We're not happy with what happened. Adhir tried to respond twice but his mic wasn't turned on. What can we say?"

"I think we should let the matter go. This is not an issue, it has nothing related to corruption or govt negligence. A man, whose Hindi is perhaps like mine, made a mistake. He accepted it, let's move on. There are far graver issues in the country," he further said.

Meanwhile, Chowdhary said that he had mistakenly used the term "Rashtrapatni" for President Murmu and that the ruling party was deliberately trying to make a mountain out of a molehill.

"I inadvertently used the word 'rashtrapatni' just once and it was a slip of the tongue. I never meant any disrespect to the President," he told reporters outside Parliament.

"What should I do? I said it and realised I uttered a wrong word. I even looked for mediapersons to request them to not focus on it. However, I couldn't find them," Chowdhury said.

He later said, "I am a Bengali and not used to Hindi. I made a mistake, I agree."

Chowdhury's "Rashtrapatni" remark led to a political storm with Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha facing disruptions.

Published on: Saturday, July 30, 2022, 09:10 PM IST