Sonia Gandhi has utmost respect for President: Priyanka Gandhi defends her mother | Video

Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi did not mean any disrespect to President Droupadi Murmu and was simply making a remark.

Congress leader and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday defended her mother and former party president Sonia Gandhi amid a row over her reaction to President Droupadi Murmu's address. Priyanka Gandhi said that her mother has the utmost respect for the President and that it is very unfortunate that her remarks have been "twisted by the media".

She also hit out at the BJP's demand for an apology over the issue, saying it should first apologise for "ruining the country". The Wayanad MP said that Sonia Gandhi's remarks did not come as disrespect to the President. 

"My mother is a 78-year-old lady. She simply said that 'the President must have been tired reading such a long speech, poor thing'. She fully respects, in fact she has the utmost respect for her (the President). It is very unfortunate that this kind of a thing is twisted by the media," Priyanka Gandhi told media persons. 

BJP launched slammed Congress over Sonia Gandhi's remarks

The BJP launched an all-out attack on the Congress over Sonia Gandhi's remarks, saying they were "deeply disrespectful" and also underscored the opposition's "continued disregard" for the dignity of the highest constitutional office.

Soon after the President delivered her address to a joint sitting of Parliament, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were seen discussing the speech in the Parliament complex.

"The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi was purportedly heard saying in a video doing the rounds on social media.

Rashtrapati Bhavan's statement

Issuing a staement, the Rashtrapati Bhavan refuted Congress leaders' claims that the President was tired during her address, stating she was energetic while speaking for marginalized groups. The remarks were termed unfortunate.

"While reacting to the media on the Hon'ble 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. Rashtrapati Bhavan would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth," th statement read. 

"The President was not tired at any point. Indeed, she has believed that speaking up for the marginalized 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," it added.