MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers staged a protest outside the Congress’ Tilak Bhavan headquarters in Mumbai on Wednesday, dousing an effigy of Maharashtra Congress chief Harshvardhan Sapkal with a dark liquid and raising slogans over his alleged “gungi gudiya” (mute doll) remark against deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar.Visuals from the protest showed party workers surrounding the effigy, pouring the dark liquid over it and shouting slogans as they demanded an unconditional apology from Sapkal.The demonstration comes amid an escalating political row between the ruling Mahayuti allies and the Congress.The controversy erupted after Sapkal was accused of making the “gungi gudiya” remark targeting Sunetra Pawar. While the NCP condemned the alleged comment and demanded a public apology, Sapkal denied using any abusive language and dismissed the controversy as a “calculated tactic.”Responding to the row, deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar said, “I will give a reply at the appropriate time.”Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis also criticised the Congress, saying, “Congress has gone to a very low level just for the sake of publicity. No one is looking at them.”NCP MLA Sana Malik accused the Congress of abandoning its own ideology and demanded a clarification from the party’s central leadership.“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 said.Defending himself, Sapkal denied making any offensive remarks.“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,” he said.Rejecting demands for an apology, Sapkal added that there was “no scope” for one because there had been no intent to insult and described the controversy as a political tactic.(With agency inputs)
