Sumitra Mahajan’s Comments on Priyanka Gandhi Invite Congress’ Wrath, Omar Abdullah Says Save the ‘Cheap Shots’

Speaker Sumitra Mahajan comment’s on how Piryanka Gandhi Vadra’s formal entry in Congress is essentially an acknowledgement on the part of Rahul Gandhi that he cannot handle his responsibilities, has invited strong reactions from the Congress.

With Priyanka joining as AICC general secretary, Mahajan told reporters on Thursday, "She (Priyanka Gandhi Vadra) is a good woman, and Rahul Ji has accepted he can’t do politics all alone, and for that he is taking Priyanka’s help. It is a good thing," said Mahajan. In the same breath, she also welcomed the move.

Reacting sharply to LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan’s remark, AICC spokesman Manish Tewari said, “We would humbly request the Speaker to kindly focus on BJP’s internal issues. So far as Congress is concerned, we are doing well without her advice and will continue to do so.” Tewari said Mahajan’s reaction showed that Priyanka’s entry into politics has clearly left the ruling BJP rattled.

Tiwari further alleged that the speaker’s statements about how Rahul is unequipped to handle responsibilities is fundamentally at odds with the expectation that the Speaker should keep herself above the fray

“What matters most in politics is popularity, and Priyanka Gandhi commands massive popularity. So BJP’s anxiety and nervousness is not unnatural,” he added.

Slamming the Lok Sabha speaker for her derogatory comments, National Conference leader Omar Abdullah, in a tweet asked Mahajan to “save the cheap shots when you no longer occupy office.” “Ma’am you are the speaker of the Lok Sabha. Can you save the cheap shots for when you no longer occupy offce?” he wrote.

On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi appointed Priyanka Gandhi as the general secretary in charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, marking her formal induction into the Congress. Not only that, the appointment also makes her a member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body.

It is interesting to note that in 2015 it was Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's granddaughter who wanted to meet Priyanka. The then Congress president Sonia Gandhi met Mahajan with Priyanka in tow and met Mahajan's granddaughter, reported Huffpost.

PM Modi, in line with his naamdar (dynast) vs kaamdar (hard working) narrative, took a dig at Priyanka Gandhi Vadra's official induction into the Congress by claiming that for some "family is the party".

In an interaction with booth level workers, the PM said: "For some, family is the party. But for the BJP, party is family.