A political controversy has arisen in New Delhi after Sonia and Rahul Gandhi criticized President Droupadi Murmu’s parliamentary address, describing her as tired. Rashtrapati Bhavan condemned their remarks as unfortunate and derogatory, asserting they undermined the president’s dignity. The BJP demanded an apology, highlighting perceived elitism within Congress regarding their comments.
New Delhi: A fresh political storm has erupted after Rashtrapati Bhavan strongly condemned remarks made by senior Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi on President Droupadi Murmu’s address to Parliament, calling them “unfortunate and entirely avoidable”. The statement further asserted that the comments were “in poor taste” and had “hurt the dignity of the high office”.
The controversy began after President Murmu addressed a joint session of Parliament to mark the beginning of the Budget Session. Speaking to reporters afterward, Sonia Gandhi remarked that the President appeared exhausted during her long speech.
“The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing,”
said Mrs. Gandhi, standing beside her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, both Members of Parliament.
The BJP quickly hit back, calling the comments “derogatory” and demanding an apology.
Following Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, Rashtrapati Bhavan issued an official statement refuting the claims and expressing displeasure over the comments.
“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,”
the statement read.
Further criticizing the Congress leaders, the statement added:
“The President’s office believes it might be the case that these leaders have not acquainted themselves 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. Some prominent leaders of the Congress party have made comments that clearly hurt the dignity of the high office, and therefore are unacceptable.”
BJP chief JP Nadda accused the Congress of elitism and insensitivity towards a tribal leader, stating:
“The deliberate usage of such words – ‘poor thing’ – shows the elitist, anti-poor, and anti-tribal nature of the Congress Party. They must apologize.”
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Additionally, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju emphasized that President Murmu is a strong and capable leader who has contributed immensely to the country.
“I condemn the comments made by Sonia Gandhi and other opposition leaders. Our President, a tribal woman, is not weak. Droupadi Murmu has worked extensively for the country and society, they cannot even imagine. They should apologise to her,”
Mr. Rijiju said.
Despite the political uproar, President Murmu’s speech emphasized the government’s efforts to lift the economy out of “policy paralysis”, overcoming challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and global conflicts.
As the political tensions continue to escalate, all eyes are now on the Congress party’s next move and whether it will issue an apology.
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