NCP Protests ‘Gungi Gudiya’ Remark on Sunetra Pawar; Fadnavis Says Congress Has Stooped to a Low Level for ‘Publicity’

Mumbai, Maharashtra: The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday staged a massive protest against Maharashtra Congress State President Harshvardhan Sapkal near the Congress headquarters, Tilak Bhavan, over his alleged derogatory "gungi gudiya" (mute doll) remarks aimed at Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar.

The political atmosphere in the state heated up as leaders from both sides traded barbs, with the NCP demanding an unconditional apology and the Congress chief dismissing the allegations as a "calculated tactic."

Reacting to the reports of being called a "gungi gudiya," Maharashtra Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar stated, "I will give a reply at the appropriate time."

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis slammed the Congress party for the remarks, accusing them of stooping to new lows for the sake of attention.

"Congress has gone to a very low level just for the sake of publicity. No one is looking at them," Fadnavis said.

NCP MLA Sana Malik hit out at the Congress, reminding the party of its own history.

"It seems the Congress party has forgotten its own history. Similar comments were once made about Indira Gandhi, and the Congress had opposed them. Sunetra Pawar is also Maharashtra's first woman Deputy Chief Minister. We find this deeply unfortunate; it appears that the Congress has, in a way, abandoned its own ideology," Malik said.

Malik further demanded an explanation from the Congress central leadership in Delhi.

"Our immediate demand is for a clarification from the Indian National Congress in Delhi: Does the central leadership share the same stance as the Maharashtra Congress? We demand an immediate and public apology. Furthermore, if a timely apology is not issued, we will escalate our protests, which have already begun in Maharashtra, to a nationwide level and also explore potential legal action," she added.

Defending his stance, Congress State President Harshvardhan Sapkal denied using any offensive language and suggested the NCP was manufacturing a controversy to stay relevant.

"No abusive language or offensive comments were used. However, you may have noticed recently that the NCP seems invisible; despite being in power, they aren't receiving due respect from the BJP. So, this move was likely a calculated attempt to demonstrate their existence," Sapkal said.

Ruling out any apology, Sapkal added, "There is no scope for an apology here because there was no intent to insult; it was merely a political tactic. As for the NCP, they seem to be forgetting the Baramati election, where the Congress had filed a nomination and a major political contest was expected. At that time, Sunetra Pawar, as the party chief, called me five times. Not only that, but the CM also called; out of sympathy and an understanding of the delicate situation, we withdrew our candidate. Distorting a political comment in this manner is completely detrimental to healthy politics."

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