'Insult To Tribals': PM Modi Condemns Sonia Gandhi's 'Poor Thing' Remark On President Murmu

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Last Updated:January 31, 2025, 17:27 IST

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned Sonia Gandhi's "poor thing" remark about President Droupadi Murmu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress leader Sonia Gandhi | File Image/ANI

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday condemned Sonia Gandhi’s “poor thing" remark about President Droupadi Murmu, saying that the Congress has insulted 10 crore tribals across the country.

The former Congress chief courted controversy on the first day of the Budget session by saying that President Murmu “looked very tired, poor thing". The BJP strongly reacted to the remark, demanding an unconditional apology from Sonia Gandhi.

#WATCH | Delhi: PM Narendra Modi says, “Droupadi Murmu ji has come here from a tribal family. Her mother tongue is not Hindi, it is Odia. She inspired the Parliament today in a wonderful way, gave a speech. But the royal family of Congress has started insulting her. A member of… pic.twitter.com/yIB0c4PUhl— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025

The Prime Minister further slammed the Congress for insulting “every poor person" of the country and said, “They like abusing people, defaming India in foreign countries and talking about urban Naxals. Delhi has to be very cautious. Out of fear of losing, these two egoists have joined hands."

Kharge Clarifies Remark

Amid the backlash over Sonia Gandhi’s remark on the president, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge defended her statement, saying that the grand old party “can never insult the President or any citizen."

“The Indian National Congress and our leaders can never insult His Excellency the President or any citizen. This is not our culture," Kharge said, further mounting attack on the BJP.

“The President was insulted by the Modi government on the very day when he was not invited to the inauguration ceremony of the new Parliament. BJP had deliberately kept our current President and previous President away from both the Temple of Democracy and Ram Temple," he added.

महामहिम राष्ट्रपति जी का अपमान तो मोदी सरकार ने उसी दिन कर दिया था जब नई संसद के उद्घाटन समारोह में उन्हें नहीं बुलाया था।भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस व हमारे नेता कभी भी महामहिम राष्ट्रपति या किसी भी नागरिक का अपमान नहीं कर सकते हैं। ये हमारी संस्कृति नहीं है।
लोकतंत्र के…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) January 31, 2025

What Sonia Gandhi Said

Sonia Gandhi stoked a row after saying that the President appeared “very tired" during her Parliament speech, while her son, Rahul Gandhi, described the address as “boring."

“The President was getting very tired by the end… She could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia was heard telling Rahul.

#WATCH | Delhi | After the President’s address to the Parliament, Congress MP Sonia Gandhi says,"…The President was getting very tired by the end…She could hardly speak, poor thing…" pic.twitter.com/o6cwoeYFdE— ANI (@ANI) January 31, 2025

The BJP went all guns blazing in attacking the Congress and sought an unconditional apology from Sonia Gandhi for her “derogatory" remark on President Murmu.

BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said Sonia’s remark demeaned the high office and reflected her feudal mindset.

Meanwhile, Union Minister JP Nadda said the remark laid bare the “elitist, anti-poor and anti-tribal nature" of the Congress. “I demand that the Congress party unconditionally apologise to the President and the tribal communities of India," he tweeted.

Rashtrapati Bhavan Reacts

In a strong response, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, without mentioning Sonia Gandhi’s name, called her remarks “unacceptable" and said it “clearly hurt the dignity of the high office."

The Rashtrapati Bhavan also clarified that President Droupadi Murmu was “not tired at any point", adding that the President believes speaking up for the marginalized communities, for women and farmers can “never be tiring".