She's 78, meant no disrespect: Priyanka Gandhi defends Sonia's 'poor thing' remark

Priyanka Gandhi defended her mother Sonia Gandhi after her "poor thing" remark on President Droupadi Murmu stoked a massive controversy. The Wayanad MP said her mother "meant no disrespect".

In Short

• Sonia Gandhi's comment on President Murmu sparks controversy
• Priyanka Gandhi defends Sonia over 'poor thing' remark
• Priyanka says media twisting her mother's words is "unfortunate"

Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi defended her mother Sonia Gandhi after her "poor thing" remark on President Droupadi Murmu stoked a massive controversy. Shielding her mother from the criticism over her remark, Priyanka Gandhi said Sonia was 78 years old and "meant no disrespect".

"My mother is a 78-year-old lady; 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 by the media. They are both two respected people and older than us. It's clear that she means no disrespect," Priyanka Gandhi said.

The former Congress chief sparked a row on the first day of the Budget session by saying that the President was "getting very tired" during her speech, while her son, Rahul Gandhi, called the address "boring".

"The President was getting very tired by the end... She could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia was heard telling Rahul, even though her remark was very audible to the bevy of reporters surrounding her.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the cudgels in his hands and attacked Congress over Sonia Gandhi's remarks. He said that the President comes from a poor family but the Congress's royal family "resorted to insulting her". He also called Sonia Gandhi's remark on the President an "insult to tribal people".

The Rashtrapati Bhavan countered Sonia Gandhi's remark, saying that the remarks by the Rajya Sabha MP were in "poor taste" and "unfortunate".

In a statement, the press secretary to the President said Droupadi Murmu, 66, was "not tired at any point" during her hour-long address to kick off the Budget session of Parliament.

The statement said the remarks hurt the dignity of the President's office and were "further from the truth". "The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she 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," Rashtrapati Bhavan said.