BJP seized on former Congress president Sonia Gandhi's comments following President Droupadi Murmu's address to both Houses of Parliament on the opening day of the Budget session. It accused Gandhi of belittling the office of the President by referring to her as a “poor thing,” a remark that, and said that it reflects her feudal mentality.
After the President’s speech, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen addressing the media on the President's speech. In a video clip, Sonia Gandhi was heard saying, "The President was getting very tired by the end... She could hardly speak, poor thing..."
Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT department, quickly reacted on X, “Sonia Gandhi’s reference to the President as a ‘poor thing’ demeans the office and exposes her feudal mindset. This isn’t the first time the Congress has mocked the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country.”
Malviya also pointed out that Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition, who often highlights his respect for the Constitution, has never made a courtesy visit to the President. He further accused the Congress of showing disregard for the Constitution written by Babasaheb Ambedkar, as well as for constitutional values and marginalized communities, including Dalits, OBCs, and Tribals.
Union Minister and BJP president JP Nadda also criticized Sonia Gandhi’s comment. "Sonia Gandhi’s use of the term 'poor thing' to describe the President is deeply disrespectful and highlights the opposition's persistent disrespect for the dignity of the highest constitutional office. Sadly, this is not an isolated incident,” Nadda wrote on X.
On Sonia Gandhi's remarks on President Murmu and her speech, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, "My mother is a 70-80 years 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 (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"
In response, Rashtrapati Bhavan issued a statement saying, "While reacting to the media on the Hon’ble President’s Address to 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.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she has always believed that speaking up for marginalized communities, women, and farmers, as she was doing during the course of her address, can never be tiring. 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 added.