Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Friday wrote to President Droupadi Murmu apologising for using an inappropriate expression to describe her post.
In his letter, Chowdhury said, "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."
Chowdhury had driven him and his party straight into a controversy by describing President Droupadi Murmu as "Rashtrapatni", a "derogatory" remark the ruling BJP utilised to corner the main Opposition party in Parliament by demanding Sonia Gandhi's apology.
It also led to a face-off between Sonia and Union Minister Smriti Irani in Lok Sabha on Thursday when the Congress president was talking to senior BJP MP Rama Devi.
Chowdhury's remarks had led to disruption in both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha with the BJP MPs accusing the Congress of insulting the President, who is a tribal.