India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has come down heavily on the Congress Party over the “poor thing” remark made by Sonia Gandhi allegedly directed at President Droupadi Murmu.
The controversy erupted following Gandhi’s comment on the President’s speech at a joint sitting of Parliament during the Budget session.
PM Modi accused the Congress leadership of disparaging remarks towards India’s President without naming her.
The Prime Minister targeted her comment, referring to it as an insult to “all tribals.”
“Look at the shahi parivaar’s (royal family’s) arrogance. It insulted President Droupadi Murmu, who comes from a tribal background. A member of the shahi family termed the President’s speech boring and said she is a poor thing. This is an insult to all tribals,” India’s Prime Minister said.
Videos circulating on social media indicated that Gandhi said, “The President was getting very tired by the end… she could hardly speak, poor thing.”
Her son Rahul Gandhi reportedly called the address boring.
BJP leaders described the comments as disrespectful and accused the Congress of showing “continued disregard” for the President and her office. “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,” BJP IT Cell chief Amit Malviya said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra defended her mother, explaining that the remark had been misinterpreted. She clarified that her mother noted that the President, after delivering a long speech, must have been tired.
“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.’ She fully respects, in fact, she has the utmost respect for her (the President). It is very unfortunate that this kind of thing is twisted by the media,” Priyanka said in a press statement.
However, the BJP maintained its position, with Modi further accusing the Congress of insulting a tribal woman who had risen to the office of President. The Rashtrapati Bhavan also issued a statement condemning the remark.
In its response, the President’s office described the comments as being “in poor taste” and “unfortunate.”
The press secretary to the President clarified that President Murmu had not been tired at any point during her hour-long address and asserted that the speech, which focused on marginalised communities, women, and farmers, was far from exhausting.
“The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she believed that speaking up for the marginalised communities, for women and farmers, as she was doing during the course of her address, can never be tiring,” Rashtrapati Bhavan said.
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