New Delhi, March 17 Congress parliamentary party chairperson Sonia Gandhi responded to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda on Tuesday, acknowledging his concerns about disruptions within Parliament and protests by her party's members outside, and stating that his observations had been noted.
Gandhi also extended greetings to Deve Gowda on the eve of Ugadi.
Deve Gowda wrote to Gandhi on Monday, stating that he was "deeply disturbed" by the "unthinking" chaos introduced within Parliament and its premises, "primarily by the opposition parties."
"I strongly feel that Congress parliamentarians, led by the Leader of the Opposition, have caused far too many disruptions within Parliament and its premises," the JD (S) Rajya Sabha MP said, adding that their protests and blockades outside Parliament were "unprecedented."
"Parliament has recently witnessed excessive slogan-shouting, the display of placards, and name-calling. There has been a lack of seriousness that has undermined my understanding and concept of Parliament and parliamentary democracy," he added.
Responding to the letter, Gandhi said, "Dear Shri Devegowda, I have just received your letter dated March 16, 2026. I have read it carefully and noted your concerns."
"I extend my greetings to you on the eve of Ugadi," Gandhi said in her brief reply to Gowda's two-page letter.
In his letter to Gandhi, Deve Gowda had said his idea of parliamentary democracy was built on the lessons and guidance imparted by founding fathers like Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B R Ambedkar, and Moulana Abdul Kalam Azad, among others.
"In my long experience, I have never witnessed Parliament in such chaos and casualness as we have seen recently. Let me tell you, in all my career, even under extreme provocation, I have never entered the Well of the House to protest, either in the state legislature or in Parliament. That was the culture that our elders taught us," he said.
"You yourself have spent long years in the opposition, and while there, you have conducted yourself with grace and maturity," he added.
Deve Gowda urged Gandhi to speak to her party leaders and others in the opposition, and ask them "not to harm themselves, their cause, and their political futures in the long run."
"I am very confident that you will do the needful... I believe that the opposition must protest as much as it wants, but that protest must be framed in a way that does not undermine what we have built together, over 75 glorious years," the former prime minister had said.