Overview
- The dispute unfolded at a state-run SARTHI felicitation in Pune for Maratha candidates when BJP Rajya Sabha MP Medha Kulkarni said MLA Abhimanyu Pawar told her not to sit in a front-row seat because she is a Brahmin.
- Kulkarni left the stage and told reporters she felt insulted by the caste remark, and she said officials had told her she could sit up front under official protocol.
- Pawar denied invoking caste, said the exchange was a misunderstanding, and expressed regret if his words hurt anyone’s sentiments.
- Kulkarni later said she would not pursue formal action and had forgiven Pawar, though opposition parties used the episode to accuse the BJP of relying on caste-based politics.
- The incident, witnessed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, highlights tensions between protocol at official events and community-specific functions and raises questions about party optics in Maharashtra politics.