New Delhi [India], February 1 : Congress leaders held a meeting on Friday to discuss the party's parliamentary strategy for the budget session of Parliament. The meeting was held at 10 Janpath, the residence of party leader Sonia Gandhi.
After the meeting, Congress MP Pramod Tiwari told ANI that INDIA alliance parties will raise the issues of inflation, unemployment, and the Maha Kumbh stampede in Parliament.
"We will also raise the issue of insult of Dr BR Ambedkar by Union Home Minister Amit Shah," he said.
Party leader KC Venugopal accused the BJP of trying to divert from main issues by politicising remarks of Sonia Gandhi relating to the speech by President Droupadi Murmu.
"They (BJP) want to divert attention from the country's economic situation. Sonia Gandhi has full respect for the President (Droupadi Murmu)".
Referring to President Murmu's address to the joint sitting of two Houses of Parliament, Sonia Gandhi said "the President was getting very tired, by the end...she could hardly speak, poor thing."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other BJP leaders slammed Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi over their remarks on the President's speech.
PM Modi, who addressed an election rally in Delhi, said the remarks of are an insult to the "tribal brothers and sisters" of the country.
"Royal family of the Congress does not like those who rise from the grassroots" and "repeatedly insults the poor and people from Dalit, Adivasi, OBC communities who are achievers".
The Prime Minister said in a post on X later that the "royal family" should seek an apology from the President.
"Today the royal family of Congress has insulted the President. They should at the earliest tender apology to the President and our poor brothers and sisters and those belonging to SC, ST and OBC communities, he said. The post had a video clip of the PM's speech at the Dwarka rally.
In his speech, PM Modi said "AAPda and Congress represent height of arrogance" and the "royal family of Congress showed its arrogance again today".
"Droupadi Murmuji has come here from a tribal family. Her mother tongue is not Hindi, it is Odia. She inspired the Parliament today in a wonderful way, gave a speech. But the royal family of Congress has started insulting her. A member of the royal family said that the tribal daughter gave a boring speech. Another member went one step further and called the President a poor thing. She called the president poor and a thing and tired. They find the speech of a tribal daughter boring. This is an insult to the 10 crore tribal brothers and sisters of the country. This is an insult to every poor person of the country," he said.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slammed BJP for politicising Sonia Gandhi's remarks.
"My mother is a 70-80-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 (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 (the country) into a gorge," she said.
The budget session of Parliament commenced on Friday.