NEW DELHI: Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's remarks on President Droupadi Murmu's address to Parliament on Friday sparked controversy, drawing criticism from Rashtrapati Bhavan and the BJP demanding an apology.
Soon after the President concluded her address to the joint sitting, Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen discussing the speech.
"The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak poor thing," Sonia was purportedly heard saying in a video doing the rounds on social media.
Reacting to the incident, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that the Congress leader's comments on the President's address to the Parliament clearly hurt the dignity of the high office and therefore are unacceptable.
The President's office said it believed it might be the case that these leaders were not acquainted with "the idiom and discourse in Indian languages such as Hindi," and thus formed a wrong impression.
"In any case, such comments are in poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable," the President's office said in a statement.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan said, "While reacting to the media on the President's Address to the Parliament, some prominent leaders of the Congress party have made comments that clearly hurt the dignity of the high office, and therefore are unacceptable."
These leaders have said that the President was getting "very tired" by the end and she could hardly speak, it said.
"Rashtrapati Bhavan would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth. The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she has believed that speaking up for the marginalized communities, for women and farmers, as she was doing during the course of her address, can never be tiring," it added.
Reacting strongly, the BJP launched a scathing attack on Sonia Gandhi.
BJP national president JP Nadda condemned her remarks and demanded an apology. "We strongly condemn the usage of the phrase 'poor thing' by Smt. Sonia Gandhi for Honourable President of India, Droupadi Murmu Ji," Nadda posted on X.
He further stated, "The deliberate usage of such words shows the elitist, anti-poor, and anti-tribal nature of the Congress Party. I demand that the Congress Party unconditionally apologise to the Honourable President and the tribal communities of India."
Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju also denounced Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, calling them demeaning to the office of the President.
BJP IT department head Amit Malviya also criticised the comments, stating on X, "Sonia Gandhi referring to the President as a 'poor thing' demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset. This is not the first time the Congress has ridiculed the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also launched a sharp attack on the Congress regarding Sonia Gandhi's comments.
At a rally in Dwarka, said, "These Congress people think they are the masters of the country. The arrogance of the Congress's royal family has once again been exposed."
He praised Murmu’s speech, highlighting her journey from a tribal family in Odisha to the highest constitutional post. "Despite Hindi not being her mother tongue, she delivered an inspiring speech in Parliament," he said.
Modi alleged that Congress leaders belittled Murmu with their remarks. "One member called her speech boring, and another went further, calling her a poor thing and tired. This is an insult to 10 crore tribal brothers and sisters and every poor person who rises from the ground. The Congress's shahi parivar never likes them and insults them," he said.
He accused the Congress of undermining the progress of marginalised communities, claiming its leadership does not accept Dalit, Adivasi, and OBC leaders who rise above their circumstances.
Modi also criticised the Congress for dismissing the president’s speech, which praised India’s economic progress, farmer welfare, metro projects, and sports personalities. "Even that, the Congress found boring," he said.
Reacting to the incident, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that her mother's remarks had been twisted by the media and that she has the utmost respect for the president.
"My mother is a 78-year-old lady, she simply said that the President must have been tired reading such a long speech, poor thing...I think she has utmost respect for her. I think it's very unfortunate that this kind of thing has twisted by the media. They are both respected people, they are older than us; it's pretty clear that she means no disrespect," she said.
Priyanka also hit back at the BJP for politicising the issue and asked them to "apologise first for ruining the country."
Earlier, Congress' deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi also hit out at the BJP over its criticism on the issue.
"Sonia Gandhi's empathy for Hon'ble President Droupadi Murmu ji's health cannot be digested by the men in BJP. Every person in India has respect and empathy for the President," he wrote on X.
"Will the BJP answer for the disrespect shown to President Murmu when she was not invited to the inauguration of the Parliament or the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya? I challenge them to answer this question," Gogoi said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge also came forward in support of Sonia Gandhi, Kharge asserted that the Congress has always respected the dignity of the President’s office and accused the BJP and sections of the media of twisting Sonia Gandhi’s words to divert attention from the economy’s poor state.
He alleged that the BJP deliberately excluded both President Murmu and her predecessor, Ram Nath Kovind, from key events, including the Parliament inauguration and the Ram temple consecration in Ayodhya.
"Her Excellency the President was insulted by the Modi government when she was not invited to the new Parliament’s inauguration," Kharge said in a post in Hindi on X.
"The Indian National Congress and our leaders can never insult the President or any citizen. This is not our culture. The BJP deliberately kept both our current and former Presidents away from the Temple of Democracy and the Ram Temple," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)