Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) district units across Maharashtra on Tuesday expressed solidarity with Chief Justice of India, B R Gavai after the incident in which advocate Rakesh Kishor hurled a shoe at him. Party spokesperson Mahesh Tapase condemned the act, terming it as a direct attack on the Constitution of India. He said, “This shameful act is not just an insult to the Chief Justice, but an assault on the very constitutional values that bind our democracy.” Tapase trained guns at the BJP, saying that the ruling party, through its actions and ideology, seeks to weaken autonomous institutions and replace the Indian Constitution with Manusmriti — “something the NCP(SP) will never allow,” he said. In a show of collective outrage and unity, NCP(SP) district units across the state organised demonstrations, condemning the attack and submitting memorandums to local tehsildars demanding strict legal action against Advocate Rakesh Kishor. Supriya Sule led the protest in Baramati. State President Shashikant Shinde joined the agitation in Mumbai along with Mumbai City President Rakhi Jadhav. MLA Rohit Pawar led the demonstration in Sambhajinagar and former Minister Shri Anil Deshmukh, participated in demonstrations in Nagpur. Several other district-level leaders, office-bearers, and party workers took part in peaceful demonstrations reaffirming their faith in constitutional values and judicial independence. Tapase stated, “Under the guidance of Sharad Pawar Saheb, the NCP (Sharad Pawar) is firmly committed to upholding democratic principles and defending the Constitution of India against all attempts to undermine it.” Speaking to reporters in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Rohit Pawar said, "We strongly condemn the attack on CJI B R Gavai. The one who attacked the CJI belonged to ‘Manuwadi tendency’. He is an RSS activist. CJI has come up the hard way in life. He is inspired by the ideology of Shiv-Shahu-Phule. The attack on him is an attack on our democracy.”
