'President not tired at any point, remarks hurt dignity of high office': Rashtrapati Bhavan responds to Sonia's comment on Murmu

Soon after the President delivered her address to the joint sitting, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen discussing the speech.

New Delhi: Top Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s description of President Droupadi Murmu as a “poor lady” and “poor thing” who was tired reading out from her speech at the joint sitting of Parliament triggered a war of words on Friday with the Rashtrapati Bhavan saying that the remarks hurt the dignity of the high office and were “unacceptable”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi pounded on the “arrogance” of Congress’s “royal family” that insulted the tribal President while Congress chief returned fire claiming that the BJP was “twisting” Sonia’s remarks to hide the “bad state of economy” and the “insult” it showered on Murmu by not inviting her to the inauguration of new Parliament and Ram Mandir.

Sonia’s remarks came outside Parliament House after Murmu delivered her customary address to the joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at the start of Budget Session. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party MP Priyanka Gandhi, her children, were also with her while they spoke about the speech.

As journalists sought her reaction and responding to Rahul’s comment that the speech was “boring”, Sonia said in English, “False promises (of the government)...The poor lady.. the President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.”

Finding the remarks “unacceptable”, Rashtrapati Bhavan said that the remarks by “some prominent leaders” of the Congress have “clearly hurt the dignity of the high office” and that it wanted to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth that she was tired.

“The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she has 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,” the statement said.

“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,” it said.

Priyanka told reporters, “My mother is a 78-year-old lady. She simply said that the President must have been tired reading such a long speech. She has utmost respect for the President. I think it is very unfortunate that this is twisted by the media. They are both respected people, they are older than us. It is pretty clear that she means no disrespect.”

At an election rally in Delhi, Modi referred to the remarks and said, “Look at the arrogance of the Congress ‘shahi parivaar’. It insulted the President who comes from the tribal background. Congress insults all those who progress from among the poor, Dalits, tribals and OBCs.”

Kharge countered Modi through a post on ‘X’ and said the President was insulted by the Modi government on the very day when she was not invited to the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament.

“Congress and our leaders can never insult the President or any citizen. This is not our culture...Today the Economic Survey has shown the ‘mirror of truth’ to the Modi government. In order to hide the bad state of the economy, BJP leaders and a section of media are twisting the phrase used by Sonia Gandhi-ji. Congress has always respected the dignity of the office of the President,” he said.

BJP president J P Nadda “strongly condemned” the coinage “poor thing” by Sonia for the President. “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 President and the tribal communities of India,” he said.

Congress Social Media and Digital Platforms Chairperson Supriya Shrinate said, “BJP and media, Sonia Gandhi was actually empathising with the President -- who got tired by the end of her 59 minute speech. If you guys attended school or college, you would know ‘poor lady or poor man’ is a figure of speech denoting empathy. Stop being vultures.”

Several BJP leaders also attacked Sonia for the remarks. BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya alleged that Sonia's remarks reflected her “feudal mindset” and it was not the first time that the Congress has “ridiculed” the President, the first tribal woman, to hold the top post.

He claimed Rahul, who frequently flaunts a copy of the Constitution, has not even considered making a courtesy visit to the President. “The Congress has no regard for Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalized backgrounds—namely, Dalits, OBCs, and tribals. The rot starts at the top,” he said.

Congress Lok Sabha Deputy Leader Gaurav Gogoi said Sonia’s empathy for the President's health cannot be digested by the men in BJP. Every person in India has respect and empathy for the President, he said.

“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,” he said.