NEW DELHI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers disrupted a press conference held by Maharashtra Congress president Harshvardhan Sapkal on Tuesday, a day after the opposition party targeted NCP president and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar with the remark “gungi dudiya” (mute doll).A visual shared by news agency PTI showed NCP workers, led by party leader Suraj Chavan, entering Gandhi Bhawan, the Congress office in Mumbai, during the incident. They raised slogans of “Harshvardhan Sapkal maafi maango” (Harshvardhan Sapkal, apologise).Condemning the incident in a post on X, the Maharashtra Congress accused “NCP goons” of “attempting to spread terror.”“Who is bringing disrepute to the NCP by harbouring goons in Mumbai and across the state? At whose behest did Suraj Chavan come to create a ruckus at Gandhi Bhavan? The NCP leadership needs to reflect on this,” the party said.“Deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar may well assume the avatar of Goddess Durga to protect the interests of the people of Maharashtra, but the Congress party will never tolerate such hooliganism within our office. A befitting response will be given,” it warned.The incident took place after the Maharashtra Congress on Monday posted a video on X in which NCP leader Dhananjay Munde was seen allegedly shielding Sunetra Pawar from a journalist’s question about the law and order situation in Beed district. The post referred to her as “gungi gudiya.”“Sunetra Pawar, how many more days will she remain a ‘gungi gudiya’?” the Congress stated in the post.Sunetra Pawar is the guardian minister of Beed district, where Walmik Karad, a close aide of Dhananjay Munde, is the prime accused in the murder of Santosh Deshmukh, a sarpanch (village head).
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Hitting back at the Congress, the NCP drew a parallel with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who was described by the same moniker by senior Congress leaders.“While democracy allows differences of opinion and even sharp criticism of policies, language that demeans women does not befit any political party. Does this mean the Congress is now indirectly admitting that the criticism levelled against the late Indira Gandhi at the time was justified?” NCP spokesperson Umesh Patil asked.
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