Prime Minister Narendra Modi took a swipe at Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over her “poor thing” remark about President Droupadi Murmu, saying the first citizen of the country is being insulted.
Replying to the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s address in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Modi referred to Ms. Gandhi’s remarks.
Without naming the Congress leader, he said, “After the president’s address — a woman president, the daughter of a poor family — if you cannot respect her, it is up to you. But what all is being said to insult her? I can understand political frustration but against the president…? What is the reason…?” The prime minister said India is leaving such mindsets behind and surging ahead with the mantra of women-led development.
Ms. Gandhi’s “poor thing and very tired” remarks about Ms. Murmu after the President’s hour-long address to a joint sitting of Parliament on Friday have snowballed into a huge controversy.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan had said Ms. Gandhi’s remarks were in “poor taste, unfortunate and unacceptable”.
