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Maharashtra speaker calls Congress remark on Sunetra Pawar unfortunate
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar termed the phrase gungi gudiya, used against Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, unfortunate, telling reporters in Raigad that whoever used such language ought to express genuine regret…
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar termed the phrase gungi gudiya, used against Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar, unfortunate, telling reporters in Raigad that whoever used such language ought to express genuine regret and apologise, The Hindu reported. The controversy began after NCP leader Dhananjay Munde reportedly shielded Pawar from a question about law and order in Beed district on 4 August, Maharashtra Congress then posted a video labelling her gungi gudiya, or silent doll, drawing backlash from the NCP, a BJP ally in the Mahayuti government. NCP workers stormed the Congress office in Mumbai demanding an apology, and police detained protesters and tightened security. Congress state president Harshwardhan Sapkal called the post regrettable and blamed miscommunication, having earlier defended the phrase as a comment on Pawar's public conduct. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused Congress of lowering the standard of political discourse, and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde called the remark an insult to Pawar and women across the state. Pawar said she would respond in due course.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The dispute shows how a single phrase aimed at a woman deputy chief minister escalated into a coalition-wide confrontation within days, drawing statements from the speaker, the chief minister and a second deputy chief minister. Congress's shift from defending the phrase as a comment on public conduct to calling it regrettable and attributing it to miscommunication is itself notable, since the party has not settled on one explanation. Pawar's own response remains outstanding, and her stated intention to address the matter later leaves the central question, whether she considers Sapkal's explanation adequate, unresolved. Watch for whether Pawar responds publicly, and whether that response includes the apology Narwekar has called for.
Source: www.thehindu.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
