New Delhi, Jul 28, 2022, By Special Correspondent

New Delhi, Jul 28: The National Commission for Women and 12 state commissions for women, including those in Tripura and West Bengal, slammed Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for calling President Droupadi Murmu 'rashtrapatni'.

"The National Commission for Women (NCW) and all the State Commissions for women who were present in quarterly meeting at Visakhapatnam condemned the derogatory and sexist remark made by @adhirrcinc against President of India. @ncwIndia is sending him summons," NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma said on Twitter. 

Besides Tripura and West Bengal, the state commissions include those from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and UP.

"His words are deeply insulting, sexist and constitute an attempt to humiliate the Hon'ble President. We call upon right-thinking persons to condemn his words in the strongest possible language," Sharma said.

The BJP has demanded an apology from Congress president Sonia Gandhi for Chowdhury's remarks against India's first tribal president.

The comments triggered a war of words between the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress members in the Lok Sabha, with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi demanding an apology from Gandhi.

In his defence, Chowdhury, who is the leader of the Congress in Lok Sabha, said he never intended to disrespect the President and his 'rashtrapatni' remark was a "slip of the tongue". 

He accused the BJP of making a "mountain out of a molehill" over the issue.