Privilege motion against Sonia Gandhi over ‘poor thing’ remark on President Murmu

A group of BJP MPs has moved a privilege notice against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi for his controversial remarks on President Droupadi Murmu. The MPs alleged that Gandhi’s remarks were meant to "lower the dignity of the highest office".

"We write this with great dismay about certain unparliamentary, derogatory, and demeaning remarks recently made by Sonia Gandhi, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), against the President of India, which warrant serious consideration and disciplinary action," they said in the notice.

The MPs further alleged that the Congress MP’s remarks not only undermine the dignity of the office but also violate the sanctity of parliamentary conventions.

Citing a Supreme Court judgement, they argued that Gandhi’s comments on Murmu can in no way get the benefit of parliamentary privileges.

"Furthermore, even the Parliamentary Ethics and Code of Conduct prescribes that no member utter defamatory words against others... this assumes significance when it concerns the President of India, and that too, when spoken about within the Parliamentary premises,” the notice said.

The MPs further alleged that Gandhi’s statement was a clear manifestation of her elitist and anti-tribal mindset.

On Friday, after the President's joint address to Parliament ahead of the Budget session, Sonia Gandhi was asked by reporters outside the House about Murmu's nearly hour-long speech.

"The President was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi, the former Congress chief, was heard saying in clips in what appeared to be a reference to how long the address was.

The BJP lashed out at the Congress leader, accusing her of insulting the President.

Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed against Gandhi before a court in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district 

Sudhir Ojha, a lawyer, filed the complaint on Saturday against Gandhi seeking the registration of an FIR against her for allegedly disrespecting the country's highest constitutional authority.

The court will hear the matter on February 10.