Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs on Monday moved a notice against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for “breach of parliamentary privilege, ethics and propriety”.
The saffron party MPs accused Sonia Gandhi of using “derogatory and slanderous words against President of India [Droupadi Murmu] with the motive to lower the dignity of the highest office”.
“We write this with great dismay about certain unparliamentary, derogatory and demeaning remarks recently made by Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, against the Hon’ble President of India, which warrant serious consideration and disciplinary action,” the MPs wrote to the Rajya Sabha chairman.
The MPs told the chairman that the statement was a “clear manifestation of the elitist and anti-tribal mindset of” Sonia Gandhi, who they claimed “is yet to understand the struggle and sensitivity of a tribal poor”.
“Given the gravity of this issue, we humbly urge you to take cognizance of this matter and initiate appropriate disciplinary action against Smt. Sonia Gandhi,” MPs’ letter shared by news agency ANI stated.
What did Sonia Gandhi say?
Sonia Gandhi triggered a controversy when she reportedly referred to President Mumu as a “poor thing” during the latter’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament on January 31.
Gandhi was quoted by ANI as saying, “…The President was getting very tired by the end…She could hardly speak, poor thing…”
The Rashtrapati Bhavan deemed the remarks ‘unacceptable’ and ‘entirely unavoidable’.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also condemned the derogatory remarks against the president and said, “Droupadi Murmu ji has come here from a tribal family. Her mother tongue is not Hindi, it is Odia. She wonderfully inspired the Parliament today and gave a speech.”
“But the royal family of Congress has started insulting her. A member of the royal family said that the tribal daughter gave a boring speech. Another member went one step further and called the President a poor thing. They find the speech of a tribal daughter boring,” PM Modi said.
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