Two phrases, one in Hindi by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and one in English by Congress leader Sonia Gandhi, sparked political battles as the Budget session of the Parliament began on Friday.
In the morning, Modi took a swipe at opposition parties, saying there were people ready to do mischief before every session since 2014 and there was also no dearth of those who would fuel such attempts.
“Shayad 2014 se lekar ab tak, ye pehla Parliament ka satr hai, ki jiske ek-do din pehle koi videshi chingari nahi pakdi hai, videsh mein se aag lagane ki koshish nahi hui hai… [Perhaps since 2014, this is the first session of Parliament in which a day or two before the session, there has been no foreign attempt to stoke a fire from abroad]," Modi said.
When reporters asked Priyanka Gandhi for her reaction to the PM’s words, the Congress general secretary said: "He never talks about people's issues, does not address them. We saw in the last session, he did not [allow] debate. So he will say such things,"
Soon after, a comment by Sonia set off a fresh political controversy, drawing sharp reactions from the BJP.
Following President Droupadi Murmu’s address to Parliament, Sonia told reporters who had asked for her reaction that the President got “very tired by the end” of her speech. “Poor thing,” she added.
Although in English that usually means a statement of sympathy and support, the BJP saw red.
BJP president J.P. Nadda strongly condemned the statement, calling it "elitist, anti-poor, and anti-tribal."
He wrote on X: "I and every @BJP4India Karyakarta STRONGLY CONDEMNS the usage of the phrase 'poor thing' by Smt. Sonia Gandhi for Honourable President of India, Droupadi Murmu Ji. The deliberate usage of such words shows the elitist, anti-poor and anti-tribal nature of the Congress Party. I demand that the Congress Party unconditionally apologise to the Honourable President and the tribal communities of India."
Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan called it an "unprecedented insult" to the President.
“The kind of words Congress MP Sonia Gandhi and his son and LoP Rahul Gandhi used against the President, I cannot even imagine. What else can be expected from them?" he said.
Union minister Sukanta Majumdar linked the controversy to the Congress's ideological leanings.
"There was a time when Congress was considered as a national party. Ever since Rahul Gandhi took over, all his advisors have been extreme Leftists from JNU. This is why all their policies and statements are insulting towards all constitutional posts. A tribal woman, who has gone on to become India's First Citizen, saying something like this about her speech is expected from the Congress," the Bengal BJP leader said.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya alleged that the remark was part of a pattern of Congress disrespecting the President.
"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. The Congress has no regard for Baba Saheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalized backgrounds—namely, Dalits, OBCs, and Tribals. The rot starts at the top," he wrote on X.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia echoed similar sentiments. "The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired at the end'... Sonia Gandhi's insult of India's first tribal woman President, Her Excellency, Mrs. Draupadi Murmu ji, exposes the low level of gutter politics and character of the Congress. The fake Ghandy family cannot tolerate that someone from outside the Gandhi family can occupy high constitutional posts. This insult is an insult to every Indian, an insult to every tribal, an insult to every woman. This country will not tolerate this. This is a very shameful and condemnable statement. We strongly condemn it," he wrote on X.