Taking note of the statements made by "prominent leaders of the Congress" Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday said that it was "poor taste, unfortunate and unacceptable".
The statement was issued by Rashtrapati Bhavan Press Secretary Ajay Singh after Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's comment, regarding Droupadi Murmu's address to the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha ahead of the Union Budget, stoked a controversy.
"The President was getting very tired by the end. She could hardly speak, poor thing," said Sonia Gandhi after Murmu's address.
The BJP called Sonia Gandhi's comments as "derogatory" and demanded an apology.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan in its statement said that the remarks clearly "hurt the dignity of the high office".
BJP party chief J.P. Nadda said that the Congress leader's remarks were "deeply disrespectful".
While hitting back, Congress said that every person in India has respect and empathy for President Murmu and claimed that BJP leaders cannot accept Sonia Gandhi's "empathy" for her health.
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After the President's address, Sonia Gandhi was seen discussing the speech with Priyanka and Rahul Gandhi in the Parliament complex. During the discussion, Rahul Gandhi was also heard asking his mother if President's speech was "boring".
"It might be the case that Congress leaders were not acquainted 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," read the Rashtrapati Bhavan statement.
It also added that 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," it said.
Slamming the Congress leaders, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that they "think they are masters of the country. The arrogance of the Congress' royal family has once again been exposed."
Modi also added that the comments were an insult to the 10 crore tribal brothers and sisters of this country. "This is an insult to every poor person who rises from the ground...The Congress' royal family does not accept anyone from the Dalit, Adivasi, OBC communities who rise above their circumstances," he said while addressing a public rally in Dwarka, Delhi.
