NCP Protests Against Congress Chief Over Remarks on Sunetra Pawar

The rhetoric escalated quickly as Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis accused Congress of descending to new depths of political discourse simply to capture headlines. NCP MLA Sana Malik seized on the controversy to highlight a perceived ideological hypocrisy, noting that Congress once fiercely defended former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi against similar gendered attacks. Malik has now escalated the pressure, calling for the Congress central leadership in Delhi to clarify whether they endorse Sapkal’s stance and threatening both national protests and potential legal action if a public apology is not forthcoming.

Sapkal remains defiant, dismissing the entire episode as a manufactured crisis intended to mask the NCP’s internal struggles within the ruling coalition. He maintains that his words were stripped of context and weaponized by an NCP faction desperate to prove its relevance. Refusing to offer an apology, the Congress leader characterized the backlash as a distraction from the complex political maneuvering surrounding the Baramati election. As the parties trade barbs, the incident underscores the deepening rift between the state’s political heavyweights, with both sides refusing to yield ground.