The BJP latched on to former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s reaction to President Droupadi Murmu’s address to both Houses of Parliament, alleging the Congress leader referring to the President as a “poor thing” demeans the high office and reflects her feudal mindset.
Gandhi, commenting on Murmu’s speech, expressed concern about the 66-year-old President’s apparent exhaustion, suggesting that she struggled to speak toward the end of her address. “The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing,” Gandhi said, speaking to reporters outside Parliament, flanked by her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, both Members of Parliament.
In response to a reporter’s question, Rahul Gandhi could be heard asking, “Boring? No comments? Repeating the same thing again and again?” while assisting his mother with her remarks.
The BJP quickly condemned Sonia Gandhi’s statement, calling it a derogatory remark toward the President. “It was a derogatory comment. Leaders like Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should not make such comments, especially about the President,” said BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar. “Droupadi Murmu belongs to an Adivasi family and is now the number one citizen of our country. The Congress’s feudal mindset cannot accept that,” he added.
Latching on to the remark, BJP IT department head Amit Malviya said on X, “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 said. The Congress has no regard for Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constitution, constitutional values, or those from socially marginalised backgrounds — namely, Dalits, OBCs, and Tribals, he alleged.
Sambit Patra, BJP national spokesperson and MP, also weighed in, criticising Sonia Gandhi’s remarks. “Today is a historic day when the President, Droupadi Murmu, presented a comprehensive vision for India’s future. However, it is unfortunate that Sonia Gandhi made such an inappropriate comment,” Patra said. “Murmu ji can never be a ‘poor thing.’ If there is a ‘poor thing’ in Indian politics, it is Rahul Gandhi, whom the Congress Party repeatedly tries to launch, but he never succeeds.”
Meanwhile, commenting on the President’s address, RJD MP Manoj Jha said, “It was President’s speech… I would just like to say that we should start a new tradition. The President should be able to speak about the pain she is experiencing and not the rhetorical things that the government has written. The President knows about the issues of unemployment, how low is the social harmony, Manipur is burning today also. There are so many things… but only painting a rosy picture… it is painful.”
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said President Droupadi Murmu’s speech was “predictable” and lacking in surprises. “It’s her job to praise the government, and she did that. But what we are concerned about is what was left out of her speech—the issues the government has failed to address, and areas where it is not performing well,” Tharoor said.
He highlighted concerns about the economy, noting that the common man and middle class are struggling. “The reality is that unemployment is at a high, and even educated youth are unable to find jobs. Yet, there was no acknowledgment in the President’s speech of what ordinary citizens in India are facing every day,” Tharoor added.