Mumbai, Aug 5 (IANS) The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Wednesday staged a fierce demonstration in front of the Mahatma Gandhi statue near the Mantralaya, demanding an unconditional public apology from the Congress leadership for the controversial social media post by it referencing Sunetra Pawar, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP National President as “Gungi Gudiya (mute doll).”
During the protest, NCP workers raised slogans like “Gungi nahi, aandhi hai… aandhi nahi, tufaan hai (She is not mute, she is a storm… not just a storm, a hurricane)” and “Sunetra vahini aage badho, hum tumhare saath hain (Sunetra Vahini move forward, we are with you)”.
Demonstrators offered respects at the Mahatma Gandhi statue and offered symbolic prayers wishing “good sense” upon the Congress party.
Prominent leaders participating in the protest included MLA Sana Malik, newly appointed NCP state women wing President Vaishali Nagawade, Mumbai Working President Siddharth Kamble, state youth wing President Nikhil Thakre alongside numerous party office-bearers and workers.
The protesters strongly condemned the incident, accusing the Congress of using derogatory language against women. During the protest, NCP leaders and workers wore black armbands and held copies of the Constitution. They later observed silence to register their protest.
Repercussions of the Congress’ statement reverberated across the state throughout Wednesday as NCP workers staged aggressive protests against the Congress in major cities including Mumbai, Pune, and Nashik, warning that the agitation will continue until the party tenders a formal apology.
This is for the second day today that the NCP continued its protest after a group of party workers led by former state youth NCP President, Suraj Chavan, stormed the party’s office in South Mumbai on Tuesday during Maharashtra Congress President, Harshwardhan Sapkal’s press conference and protested, demanding an apology. As the Congress did not issue any apology, the party held another silent protest on Wednesday.
Sunetra Pawar on Tuesday told reporters, “I will reply (to Congress party) at an appropriate time.”
NCP Working President Praful Patel condemned the derogatory language used against the party’s National President and Maharashtra’s first woman Deputy CM, through the official Congress account.
“In a progressive Maharashtra shaped by the ideals of Yugpurush Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Chhatrapati Rajarshi Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Dr B.R. Ambedkar, and Yashwantrao Chavan Saheb, disrespect towards women can never be accepted.
“It is deeply unfortunate and condemnable that a party led by women leaders such as Smt Sonia Gandhi and Smt Priyanka Gandhi has chosen to use such language against a woman leader. The Congress Party must immediately withdraw the post and issue a public apology. Insult and humiliation of women have no place in Maharashtra’s political discourse,” noted Patel.
Further, Maharashtra NCP President, Sunil Tatkare, denounced the post made from the Congress party’s official X account calling it a “public display of the party’s intellectual and moral bankruptcy.”
He noted that while ideological and political differences are a natural part of a vibrant democracy, derogatory language aimed at women crosses acceptable boundaries. “Politics should be a contest of ideas, with arguments answered through facts and principles,” Tatkare stated. “When a political party resorts to derogatory remarks against a woman, it exposes not only its lack of political maturity but also the values and culture it truly represents.”
Demanding immediate accountability, Tatkare called on the Congress party to tender an unconditional public apology to Sunetra Pawar and to the women of Maharashtra, asserting that disrespecting and insulting women can never be tolerated in democratic discourse.
–IANS
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