Congress leader calls Sunetra Pawar 'gungi gudiya', regrets making remark after row

A political row erupted in Maharashtra on Tuesday after the state Congress referred to Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar as a "gungi gudiya" (mute doll), prompting workers of the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to storm the Congress office in Mumbai and raise slogans against the party.

The protest broke out after Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal addressed a press conference at Tilak Bhavan. Soon after the briefing, NCP workers entered the Congress office premises, shouted slogans and created a ruckus over the remark directed at Sunetra Pawar.

Mumbai Police later detained the protesting NCP workers and took them to Colaba Police Station. Security outside the Congress office was also stepped up following the confrontation.

Responding to the controversy, Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar said she would give a befitting reply at the



appropriate time. "When the time comes, I will respond appropriately," she said without giving much weight to the controversy.

Hours after the controversy escalated, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal said the remarks on Sunetra Pawar were "regrettable" and attributed them to a "miscommunication".

"The remarks on Sunetra Ji Pawar that got posted are regrettable and were a result of a miscommunication," Sapkal said in a post on X in Marathi.

He added that respect and dignity for women remained paramount for the Congress and clarified that the party's post was contextual in nature and "not a personal comment against any individual". "It should not be interpreted otherwise," he said.

Earlier in the day, Sapkal had defended the expression, saying it was intended to describe Sunetra Pawar's public conduct rather than insult her.