President Droupadi Murmu is the most respected leader by virtue of the position she holds and this respect has only been heightened by her dignified behaviour in various top capacities. An unsavoury row has erupted over her address of both houses of Parliament at the start of the Budget session. In the first place, senior Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should have avoided the kind of observations they made in a casual chat, calling the President a “poor thing”, “weak, exhausted” etc. This was the comment made by Sonia Gandhi on the President’s often slow reading of a prepared text; or it might even be that she was exhausted by the very act of having to read heavy and lengthy text that lasted a while. Rahul Gandhi added to the President’s embarrassment by calling her speech “boring.” All of these should have been avoided in the larger interests of social decorum and parliamentary dignity. A President does not operate in the political realm and should not be subjected to loose talk.
This having happened, the BJP caught on and is not leaving any stone unturned to “protect the honour,” of the President. Prime Minister Modi himself came upfront to castigate the Gandhis and term their references an insult to tribals and womanhood – a script that his party has already laid out. BJP’s tribal MPs have filed a privilege notice against Sonia Gandhi. A case has been filed in Jharkhand against Sonia Gandhi. All these are simply showmanship and must be treated as such. The level of political discourse has touched a deep low for a a while now. Sensible discussions rarely take place even in the hallowed halls of parliament or assemblies. Each side is out to outwit the other side by hook or by crook. They make a mountain out of a molehill, if only to derive maximum political advantage.
It should not go unnoticed at this time that the Modi government had, almost provocatively, avoided inviting the President for the inauguration of the new Parliament building in May, 2023; and instead a message from her was read out. This raised eyebrows. Criticism was that the BJP and Modi intended it as an insult to the tribal community and that her presence was “unwelcome” due to rules set by the priests. A Congress government would have dismissed such “rules” outright. The BJP can be trusted to play the flute. Doing lip-service to the causes of the poor from the podium or feeding them with free ration – a scheme started under the UPA government with encouragement from Sonia Gandhi through the national food security act – alone will not do. Ensuring India’s tribals and Dalits a dignified life is still a far cry even three quarters of a century after Independence. They should get their due in all government fields. Discourse should centre around such larger issues. Petty issues can wait.
