NEW DELHI, Jan 31: The BJP on Friday launched an all-out attack on the Congress over its former chief Sonia Gandhi’s remarks on President Droupadi Murmu’s Parliament address, saying they were “deeply disrespectful” and underscored the opposition’s “continued disregard” for the dignity of the highest constitutional office.
The Congress hit back and said every person in India has respect and empathy for President Murmu but BJP leaders cannot digest Sonia Gandhi’s “empathy” for her health.
Will the BJP answer for the disrespect shown to President Murmu when she was not invited to the inauguration of Parliament or Ram temple in Ayodhya, the Congress asked.
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Soon after the President delivered her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, Sonia Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen discussing the speech in the Parliament complex.
“The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end… she could hardly speak, poor thing,” Sonia Gandhi was heard saying in a video doing the rounds on social media.
During the discussion, Rahul Gandhi was heard asking Sonia Gandhi if the President’s speech was “boring”.
Reacting sharply, BJP national president J P Nadda said in a post on X, “Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s use of the phrase ‘poor thing’ to refer to the President is deeply disrespectful and underscores the opposition’s continued disregard for the dignity of the highest constitutional office.”
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident, he said.
While the President was highlighting the government’s achievements, the opposition, driven by its “feudal mindset”, chose to mock the empowerment of backward classes and women, a “transformation” brought about under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, he charged.
“The focus today should have been on celebrating India’s remarkable progress, as outlined in the President’s address,” he said.
The BJP chief alleged that time and again, the opposition has shown “blatant disregard” for constitutional norms, carrying forward its “legacy of disrespect” for B R Ambedkar with “undignified ease, all for petty political gains”.
“Perhaps it is time for the opposition to focus on meaningful discussions in the temple of democracy instead of repeatedly insulting the highest office in the country,” Nadda said, adding, “They must stop parroting the language of foreign puppet masters while enriching themselves at the nation’s expense.”
Hitting back, Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi said in a post X, “Sonia Gandhi’s empathy for Hon’ble President Droupadi Murmu ji’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,” the deputy leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha asked.
“I challenge them to answer this question,” he said.
Union Parliamentary Affairs minister Kiren Rijiju vehemently condemned Sonia Gandhi’s remarks and said the BJP will not “tolerate” the effort being made by the opposition to show Murmu as weak.
“Since a tribal woman has become the President of the country for the first time, they are unable to digest it and are trying to project her as weak,” he said.
“The President is a woman and a tribal. She is not weak,” he told reporters in the Parliament complex.
Slamming Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, Rijiju said the Congress leaders calling President Murmu a “tired woman” and describing her speech as “boring” does not suit them.
“It’s highly condemnable,” he said, adding they should apologise for their remarks.
Taking on Rahul Gandhi, Rijiju said, “The leader of opposition does not pay attention to any speech. Look at his body language. He doesn’t care.”
Rahul Gandhi lacks the required attention span and the capacity to absorb the points made by others, he charged.
Union minister and senior BJP leader Dharmendra Pradhan also slammed Sonia Gandhi’s remarks, calling them an “insult” to the country’s women and tribals.
Both Rahul Gandhi and his mother Sonia Gandhi have displayed “incivility” in the way they reacted to the President’s address, he charged.
“I strongly condemn this,” he said, adding that such a tendency is “very dangerous” in democracy.
Several other BJP leaders condemned the former Congress president’s comments and demanded an apology from her.
“If at all there is anyone poor in Indian politics, it’s Rahul Gandhi who is yet to be launched despite repeated attempts by the Congress,” BJP MP and national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters in the Parliament complex.
“Sonia Gandhi should apologise to the President,” he added.
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 that the Congress has “ridiculed” the first tribal woman to hold the highest constitutional office in the country, he charged.
“Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition (in Lok Sabha), who frequently flaunts a copy of the Constitution, has not even considered making a courtesy visit to the President,” he said.
He alleged that the Congress has no regard for Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalised backgrounds — Dalits, OBCs and tribals. (PTI)
