Kharge Mispronounced Presidents' Names, BJP furious

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge faced brickbats from the BJP after he mispronounced the names of President Droupadi Murmu and her predecessor Ram Nath Kovind during an address in Chhattisgarh.

Speaking at the Science Ground in Raipur, Kharge could be heard referring to the President as "Murma ji". However, he quickly corrected himself to say "Murmu". Seconds later, he did a gaffe again, mispronouncing "Kovind" as "Covid".

Kharge made the remarks while he was speaking on the issue of large-scale cutting of trees in Chhattisgarh forests, and accused the BJP and its "industrialist friends" of land grab. "Our jal, jungle, and zameen need to be protected and hence we need to be united... They (BJP) say we made (Droupadi) Murma President, (Ram Nath) Covid (Kovind) President, but why? To steal our resources, our jungle, jal, and zameen. Today, people like Adani and Ambani are occupying it," he said.

The BJP came down hard on the Congress chief, slamming him for the "anti-women, anti-Dalit, and anti-tribal" statement.

"The Congress president has used objectionable words for Draupadi Murmu. The entire tribal community is condemning this. He even used words like Covid for former president Ram Nath Kovind," said BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia. Another spokesperson, Shehzad Poonawalla, said the remarks reflected the deep-seated hatred Congress had for the SC and ST communities.

This is not the first time that Congress has landed in trouble for using alleged derogatory remarks against the President. In 2022, while talking to reporters, senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury used the word "rashtrapatni" for President Murmu. It triggered a major political row, with the ruling BJP raising the issue in Parliament. Amid the uproar, Chowdhury said it was a mere slip of his tongue and he had the highest regard for the President. "This error occurred because my mother tongue is Bengali and I am not well-versed in Hindi," he clarified.