Pune: NCP state president Sunil Tatkare on Wednesday pulled up party colleague Dhananjay Munde for intervening during deputy chief minister Sunetra Pawar’s news conference in Beed last week, after which Congress referred to her as “Gungi Gudiya”.“When an important person interacts with the media, others should not intervene,” Tatkare told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday.Munde was with Sunetra in a news conference during her visit to Beed on July 31. When a reporter asked about the law and order situation of Beed, Munde intervened and told him not to ask a question. Sunetra ended the media interaction after Munde’s intervention and left the meeting hall. After its video surfaced on social media, Congress targeted Sunetra and referred to her as “Gungi Gudiya”.Reacting to the controversy, Tatkare protested Congress’ criticism and said the use of derogatory language against a woman was not expected from a national party. Without naming Munde, Tatkare also asked his party colleagues to have a better conduct during media interactions.“Other colleagues from our party can sit beside a person addressing a news conference, but they should refrain from intervening. Our party colleagues will act more responsibly in future,” Tatkare said.Congress also targeted Munde by calling him the dictator of Beed over his intervention during the media interaction. State Congress chief Harshwardhan Sapkal said, “There is a growing perception about Munde that he supports criminal elements in his district. It was sad to see that his party chief did not say anything when he told a reporter not to ask a question.”Reacting to the controversy, Munde said he was being deliberately targeted. “For the past one-and-a-half years, I have not spoken anything. I am not even a minister anymore. I am a small politician, yet I am being called a dictator, which is shocking,” he said.Former Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Kakade, who recently switched from BJP to NCP, wrote a letter to leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar, demanding that they speak on the issue of Congress referring to Sunetra as “Gungi Gudiya”.State NCP (SP) chief Shashikant Shinde said, “Instead of demanding Pawar to speak on the issue, Kakade should speak to his party colleagues and ensure that Sunetra gets the freedom to express herself.”
