BJP, Rashtrapati Bhavan demand apology from Sonia Gandhi over disparaging remarks

The Rashtrapati Bhavan reacted to Congress MP Sonia Gandhi's remark on President Droupadi, calling it in "poor taste." The response comes after a viral video purportedly showed Sonia Gandhi referring to the President as "poor thing" and claiming that she got tired after delivering her pre-Budget address to Parliament.

In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said, "While reacting to the media on the Hon’ble President’s Address to the 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." 

Sonia Gandhi insults President Droupadi Murmu Ji, referring to her as an old poor lady. Such a statement directed at the first Adivasi woman to hold the esteemed office of President of India is an insult to the dignity and achievements of tribal communities, particularly tribal… pic.twitter.com/ZkstPf0jLU

— BJP Telangana (@BJP4Telangana) January 31, 2025

"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 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."

In the viral video, Sonia Gandhi purportedly said, "The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end...she could hardly speak poor thing." BJP IT cell chief Amit Malviya called out the Congress MP for her remarks. In a post on X, he said, "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 added. Malviya further alleegd that the Congress has no regard for Babasaheb Ambedkar's Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalised backgrounds -- namely, Dalits, OBCs, and Tribals.

(Except for the headline, nothing has been changed by All India News Network in the PTI copy.)