Mamata Apologises For Her Minister’s Comment On President

Kolkata: After West Bengal Minister Akhil Giri drew widespread criticism for making controversial remarks about President of India Droupadi Murmu, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was compelled to tender an apology on behalf of her minister on Monday.

“I apologise for what my MLA said about the president. My party has already apologised and I respect the president a lot,” Mamata said.

“We all respect the president. She is a highly respected lady. Akhil Giri should not have said this. We condemn this. The party has cautioned him. We do not support this opinion. It has been conveyed to him and he should not say anything on it further. Akhil has done injustice,” the TMC supremo said.

In a viral video, Giri was heard commenting on the looks of the President and mocking the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently.

“They (BJP) said that I am not good-looking. We don’t judge anyone by their appearance. We respect the office of the President (of India). But how does our President look?” Giri, the minister of state for Correctional Homes, was heard saying at a rally in Nandigram late on Friday.

After widespread condemnation and surging demands to sack Giri over his derogatory remarks against the president, Mamata said that the minister has been cautioned.