'My mother is 78, she means no disrespect': Priyanka Gandhi Vadra defends Sonia over President 'poor thing' remark

The row erupted after a video clip emerged showing Sonia Gandhi, speaking informally with her children, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, commenting on President Murmu's apparent exhaustion following her speech.

"The poor lady, the President, was getting very tired by the end... she could hardly speak, poor thing," Sonia Gandhi was heard saying.

The BJP has termed the remarks as derogatory and has triggered the latest flashpoint between the ruling party and the Congress.

As the backlash mounted, Priyanka said her mother did not make the remark with any disrespect to the President.

"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 both are two respected people and older than us. She means no disrespect. BJP should first apologise for pushing into a gorge," she said.

PM Modi slams Sonia Gandhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Friday slammed Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over her "poor thing" remark on President Droupadi Murmu's address to Parliament, hours after the Rashtrapati Bhavan called the comments "unfortunate and entirely avoidable" as well as "in poor taste".

At an election rally in Delhi's Dwarka, PM Modi said the Congress family's "arrogance was on full display today".

"President Droupadi Murmu addressed parliament. But a member of the royal family said the language was boring. One member said her language seemed tiring... Urban Naxals' words are more interesting to the royal family," PM Modi said.

"Urban Naxal" is a term often used by BJP leaders and rightwing organisations to describe Opposition leaders and activists as they refer to them as city versions of guerillas who fight in the forests.

"Both the Congress and AAP display arrogance. The AAP acts as if they own Delhi, while the Congress family's arrogance was on full display today. Sonia Gandhi's comments were totally inappropriate, calling President Droupadi Murmu 'a poor thing' after saying she looked tired and gave a boring speech. This remark insults not just the President but also every poor and tribal community," PM Modi said at the rally.

Rashtrapati Bhavan reacts:

The Indian President's Office earlier in the day criticised Sonia Gandhi's ‘poor thing’ remark and said it 'hurt the dignity' of the high office.

"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," the Rashtraparti Bhavan said in a statement.

"Rashtrapati Bhavan would like to clarify that nothing could be farther from the truth. 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 statement said.

"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," the statement said.

The office said the comments are in 'poor taste, unfortunate and entirely avoidable'.