India
"It is a misunderstanding. I didn't say 'naali'. If Prime Minister Modi is upset with it, then I'm sorry. I had no intention to hurt him. If the Prime Minister is hurt I will personally apologise to him," Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said.
Updated : Jun 25, 2019, 05:04 AM IST
Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Monday apologised to Prime Minister Narendra Modi after he called him 'Naali' when a BJP MP compared him with Swami Vivekananda. Chowdhury said that he did not have the intention to hurt the Prime Minister.
"It is a misunderstanding. I didn't say 'naali'. If Prime Minister Modi is upset with it, then I'm sorry. I had no intention to hurt him. If the Prime Minister is hurt I will personally apologise to him. My Hindi is not good, by 'naali' I meant channel," Chowdhury told media persons.
"I got enraged when a BJP member tried to humiliate Swami Vivekananda by comparing him with Prime Minister Modi. Swami Vivekananda's name was Narendranath Datta. He was trying to equate Narendranath Datta with Narendra Modi equal, which was vehemently opposed by me," he said.
"In order to establish my argument, I said you are comparing Ganga and 'Naali.' I did not have any kind of remotest intention to dishonour, disrespect and humiliate my Prime Minister. I don't speak Hindi. So, maybe it could have been misinterpreted... People of Bengal have an emotional attachment with Swami Vivekananda," he added.