The Rashtrapati Bhavan, on Friday, reacted sharply to the remarks made by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on President Droupadi Murmu’s speech on the opening day of the Budget Session of Parliament, saying the comments clearly “hurt the dignity of the high office and therefore are unacceptable”.

Commenting on the President’s customary speech in Parliament, the CPP Chairperson told reporters, “Poor lady! The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing.”

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The leader of the Opposition called the President’s speech “boring”.

In a statement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan, without naming anyone, said, “While reacting to the media on the President’s address to the Parliament, some prominent leaders of the Congress party have made comments that clearly hurt the dignity of the high office, and therefore are unacceptable. These leaders have said that the President was getting very tired by the end and she could hardly speak.”

The Rashtrapati Bhavan further said that it would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth and the President was not tired at any point.

“Indeed, she has believed that speaking up for the marginalised communities, for women and farmers, as she was doing during the course of her address, can never be tiring. The President’s office believes it might be the case that these leaders have not acquainted themselves with the idiom and discourse in Indian languages such as Hindi, and thus formed a wrong impression. In any case, such comments are in poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable,” the statement said.

The remarks made by the CPP Chairperson and the leader of the Opposition have received severe backlash from the BJP with its national president J P Nadda leading a frontal attack, calling it “deeply disrespectful”.

In a post on X, Nadda wrote, “Former Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s use of the phrase ‘poor thing’ to refer to the President is deeply disrespectful and underscores the Opposition’s continued disregard for the dignity of the highest constitutional office. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. While the President was highlighting the government’s achievements, the Opposition – driven by its feudal mindset – chose instead to mock the empowerment of backward classes and women, a transformation brought about under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.”

“Time and again, the Opposition has shown blatant disregard for constitutional norms, carrying forward its legacy of disrespect for Babasaheb Ambedkar with undignified ease – all for petty political gains. Perhaps it is time for the Opposition to focus on meaningful discussions in the temple of democracy instead of repeatedly insulting the highest office in the country. They must stop parroting the language of foreign puppet masters while enriching themselves at the nation’s expense,” he said.

Nadda said the focus today should have been on celebrating India’s remarkable progress, as outlined in the President’s address.

Talking to reporters, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said, “I strongly condemn the comments made by CPP Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and some Opposition leaders. They should apologise to her.”

Echoing similar sentiments, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said, “Him (Rahul Gandhi) saying boring, his mother (Sonia Gandhi) saying tired… I did not expect it from Sonia ji. The statement made by the son and mother who are desperately fighting for political relevance, I am appalled.”

Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “I condemn the statement made by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi against the President. What else can be expected from them?”