'Sonia Gandhi said don't talk to me...': Nirmala Sitharaman's allegation amid 'rashtrapatni' row

Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday accused Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi of being aggressive inside the House at a time the BJP MPs protested against Congress leader Adhir Chowdhury's 'rashtrapatni' remark. “Some of our members in the Lok Sabha felt very threatened -- and I am saying it befoe you, I did not imagine there will be a situation for me to say it -- felt threatened that Smt Sonia Gandhi herself came up to probably one of our very senior members to find out...,” Sitharaman said. Also Read | 'Soniaji sanctioned...': Smriti Irani's attack on Cong; Jairam Ramesh's reply

"One of our member approached there and she (Sonia Gandhi) said you don't talk to me, putting the member down in the House. So instead of remorse, from the highest leader of the Congress party, we find greater and greater aggression," Nirmala Sitharaman said without naming whom Sonia Gandhi ‘snubbed’. However, it was Smriti Irani to whom Sonia Gandhi said those words.

BJP MP Smriti Irani on Lok Sabha raised the issue of Adhir Chowdhury's comment and demanded an answer from Sonia Gandhi. Irani said, "Soniaji sanctioned the humiliation of a woman in the highest constitutional post. Sonia ji sanctioned the humiliation of a poor woman who ascended to the highest office in this country, You sanctioned the insult of every Indian citizen."

As the ruckus broke out, Sonia Gandhi walked over to the side of the BJP MPs and asked about the issue. The conversation mentioned by Nirmala Sitharaman is believed to have taken place at that time.

Congress's Gaurav Gogoi said Sonia Gandhi is fearless and that's why she went to the women MPs but BJP MPs behaved in a very ill-mannered way.

Sonia Gandhi was asked by journalists on the row earlier to which she said Adhir Chowdhury has already apologised for what he said.