A group of Bharatiya Janata Party MPs on Monday moved a breach of parliamentary privilege notice against Congress MP Sonia Gandhi, alleging use of "derogatory and slanderous words" to describe President Droupadi Murmu as she addressed a joint session of Parliament last week.
Sonia Gandhi triggered a controversy after she had referred to President Mumu as a “poor thing” during the latter's address to a joint sitting of Parliament on January 31.
The comments, the MPs alleged, were meant to "lower the dignity of the highest office".
"We write this with great dismay about certain unparliamentary, derogatory, and demeaning remarks recently made by Sonia Gandhi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), against the President of India, which warrant serious consideration and disciplinary action," the notice said.
"It is with deep concern we highlight this statement... which appears to demean the stature and dignity of the President of India, the highest Constitutional authority of our nation."
"Such remarks not only undermine the dignity of the office but also violate the sanctity of parliamentary conventions," the BJP MPs said in their letter to Rajya Sabha Chair Jagdeep Dhankhar.
"Given the gravity of this issue, we humbly urge you to take cognisance and initiate appropriate disciplinary action against Sonia Gandhi," the BJP MPs wrote, calling for "exemplary action".
Gandhi's comment immediately sparked a storm of condemnation from BJP leaders. The Rashtrapati Bhavan also released a statement calling the remark “unacceptable” and saying that Murmu was not tired.
Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attacked the Congress at a rally in Delhi and alleged that Sonia’s comment had insulted tribal communities.
“Droupadi Murmu ji has come here from a tribal family. She inspired Parliament today in a wonderful way 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,” Modi had said in Dwarka.
BJP chief JP Nadda called the remark "deeply disrespectful" and said the "deliberate use of such words...shows the elitist, anti-poor nature of the Congress. Several other party leaders also chipped in, each slamming Gandhi, who was defended by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, saying that the BJP was trying to twist an innocent comment.
“My mother is 78 years old, she has simply said that ‘the President read such a long speech and she must have been tired, ‘poor thing’... She fully respects [the President of India]. I think it is very unfortunate that this kind of thing is twisted,” Priyanka Gandhi had said.