Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Jan 31: The Budget Session of Parliament began with a fresh controversy on Friday morning after the BJP twisting her remarks mounted an attack on the former Congress president Sonia Gandhi for calling the President Droupadi Murmu a “poor thing” and the Rashtrapati Bhavan branding her remark as “in poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable.”
While commenting on her long address to the joint houses of Parliament, Mrs Sonia Gandhi told reporters, flanked by her children and Congress MPs Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, “The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.” Rahul Gandhi was heard telling his mother, “Boring? No comments? Repeating the same thing again and again?”
Mrs Gandhi’s phrase followed her concern that the 66-year-old looked exhausted after her long customary speech, with the BJP denouncing it as a “derogatory comment” and demanding an apology.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders mounted a scathing attack on Mrs Gandhi calling it an insult to the tribal president, the Rashtrapati Bhavan Press Secretary reacted to the media reports said, “Rashtrapati Bhavan would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth. The President was not tired at any point.”
“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 added.
The statement further 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,” the statement noted.
Latching on to the remark, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said 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.” “Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, who frequently flaunts a copy of the Constitution, has not even considered making a courtesy visit to the President,” he said.
The Congress has no regard for Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalized backgrounds — namely, Dalits, OBCs, and Tribals, he alleged.
Mr Modi strongly criticised Mrs Gandhi over her “poor thing” comment on Ms Murmu. At an election rally in Delhi’s Dwarka, PM Modi said the Congress family’s “arrogance was on full display today.” “President Droupadi Murmu addressed parliament. But a member of the royal family said the language was boring. One member said her language seemed tiring… Urban Naxals’ words are more interesting to the royal family,” PM Modi said.
“Urban Naxal” is a term often used by BJP leaders and rightwing organisations to describe Opposition leaders and activists as the city versions of guerillas who fight in the forests.
“Both the Congress and AAP display arrogance. The AAP acts as if they own Delhi, while the Congress family’s arrogance was on full display today. Sonia Gandhi’s comments were totally inappropriate, calling President Droupadi Murmu ‘a poor thing’ after saying she looked tired and gave a boring speech. This remark insults not just the President but also every poor and tribal community,” PM Modi said at the rally.
Amidst the row, Priyanka Gandhi has come to her mother’s defence, insisting that the comments were being misinterpreted and said there was no ill intent behind her mother’s words.
“My mother is a 78-year-old lady, she has simply said that ‘the President read such a long speech and she must have been tired, poor thing’. She fully respects the President of India. I think it is very unfortunate that this kind of thing is twisted by the media. They both are two respected people and older than us. She means no disrespect. BJP should first apologise for pushing into a gorge,” she said.
The BJP leaders, including Mr Modi have condemned Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, accusing the Congress of maintaining a feudal and elitist mindset that disrespects India’s first tribal President. BJP president JP Nadda described the remarks as “deeply disrespectful” and called for an unconditional apology.
“Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. While the President was highlighting the government’s achievements, the opposition-driven by its feudal mindset-chose instead to mock the empowerment of backward classes and women, a transformation brought about under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership,” Mr Nadda said.
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju demanded the same. “Our President, a tribal woman, is not weak. Droupadi Murmu has worked extensively for the country and society in ways they [Congress leaders] cannot even imagine. They should apologise to her,” Mr Rijiju said. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan echoed similar sentiments, calling the remarks an “unprecedented insult to the President.”
BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar added that the Congress’s feudal mindset can’t digest the fact that an Adivasi lady had become the President of the country. “It was a derogatory comment. Leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should not pass such comments, especially on the President. Droupadi Murmu belongs to an Adivasi family and now she is the number one citizen of our country and that is not accepted by Congress’s zamindaari mindset. That’s why they are opposing her speech,” said Mr Majumdar.
The BJP has accused the Congress of being feudal several times in the past, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi even recalling an image of Indira Gandhi from her Gujarat visit, which showed her holding a hanky near her nose due to foul smells. He hinted at her being an elitist while calling it the “fragrance of humanity.”
President Murmu, during her address earlier in the day, said the government has worked towards lifting the economy out of “policy paralysis” despite challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic and global conflicts. She also said the third term of the Modi government was seeing work being done at thrice the pace of previous regimes.
The President praised the government’s efforts in the aviation and railway sectors and said it was working towards modernisation in the agriculture sector and aims to make it self-reliant. She also shared concerns over digital fraud and cybercrime that pose challenges to national security.
