New Delhi: At least 21 tribal BJP MPs on Monday moved a privilege motion against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi over her “derogatory and demeaning” comments on President Droupadi Murmu following her joint address to both Houses of Parliament last week.
The Rajya Sabha MP triggered a controversy when she said that President Murmu was “getting very tired by the end” of her nearly hour-long speech and alleged “she could hardly speak, poor thing.”
The MPs said in the notice that the 78-year-old Sonia’s remarks appeared to “demean the stature and dignity” of the President’s office.
“Such remarks not only undermine the dignity of the office but also violate the sanctity of parliamentary procedures and conventions. It is relevant to state that Sonia Gandhi’s utterances against the President can in no way get the benefit of parliamentary privileges,” the notice read.
The BJP MPs pointed out that parliamentary ethics and code of conduct prescribe that no member should utter defamatory words against others.
Such remarks, they stated, were a “clear manifestation of the elitist and anti-tribal mindset of Sonia Gandhi, who is yet to understand the struggle and sensitivity of a tribal poor.”
“Any deviation from these standards diminishes the stature of the institution and compromises the trust that the citizens of India place in it,” the notice said.
The MPs cited a Supreme Court judgment, which said abuse of privilege by an MP was “difficult to digest”, and demanded “appropriate disciplinary action” against Sonia.
“In light of the seriousness of this matter, especially when this concerns the President of India, we request that exemplary action for breach of parliamentary privileges, ethics and propriety be initiated against Sonia Gandhi for this contemptuous conduct,” the tribal MPs added.
