By Purnima Jain
A troubling viral image of Maharashtra has rocked the political scenario and created sensations among the people. It shows a young man, purportedly the son of a leader of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), who is in an alcoholic condition, half naked, and, using abusive language, addressing a woman of the Marathi-speaking community. The video has since gone viral on social media, casting sharp condemnation on both political leaders and citizens. Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam shared a video on X (formerly Twitter) and severely criticized the act and asked a question: What is the hypocrisy of the people who say that we have to protect the Marathi pride? Nirupam stated that the man was drunk, spoke abusively to the woman, and even threatened her with the political status of his father to scare her off. 啶ㄠざ啷 啶啶 啶о啶むイ啶呧ぇ啶ㄠ啶椸ぞ啷む啶 啶ぐ啶距啷 啶ぞ啶粪た啶 啶す啶苦げ啶 啶曕 啶膏ぞ啶 啶椸ぞ啶侧-啶椸げ啷屶 啶曕ぐ啶むぞ 啶灌啶 啶え啶膏 啶曕ぞ 啶ㄠ啶むぞ 啶啶む啶班イ啶娻お啶 啶膏 啶呧お啶ㄠ 啶ぞ啶 啶曕 啶班じ啷傕啶 啶曕 啶о啶傕じ 啶︵ 啶班す啶 啶灌啷むぎ啶班ぞ啶犩 啶膏啶掂ぞ啶た啶ぞ啶 啶曕 啶班啷嵿し啶 啶曕ぐ啶ㄠ 啶曕ぞ 啶︵ぞ啶掂ぞ 啶曕ぐ啶ㄠ啶掂ぞ啶侧啶 啶曕ぞ 啶呧じ啶侧 啶氞啶灌ぐ啶 啶︵啶栢た啶忇イ啶曕啶ぞ 啶囙え啷嵿す啷啶 啶啶膏げ啶ぞ啶ㄠ啶 啶曕 啶︵が啶距さ 啶啶 啶え啶膏啶掂ぞ啶侧 啶灌た啶傕う啷佮啶 啶ぐ 啶灌ぎ啶侧 啶曕ぐ 啶班す啷 啶灌啶 ? pic.twitter.com/vOkXz1Ev0w 鈥 Sanjay Nirupam (@sanjaynirupam) July 7, 2025 Political and Social Reactions The video has stirred untold outrage. This baffles many users because an individual who is in such a condition threatens a woman in such a way that he is no longer in need of any protection because of his political position, given his father. In the tweet, Nirupam poured fuel on the fire, requesting people to find out the answer as to whether the MNS, a party that has in the past fought hard on the Marathi identity, is now defending such elements under political pressure. Another point raised by the critics is the apparent hypocrisy of political parties who utter the slogan of Marathi pride but never win a word at the time when an image of one of their own is caught humiliating a Marathi lady. Silence from MNS Raises Eyebrows To date, the MNS leadership has remained silent, a notion that has given way to rumours and counterattacks. Several have observed that the party that prides itself on militantly protecting the Marathi culture is suddenly being criticized for defending a man who is being accused of misconduct in public and sexism. The problem is especially delicate in Maharashtra, where the identity of the region and the security of women are highly politicized topics. Not only netizens but also activists are asking not only to apologize but also to charge the perpetrator with the available legal tools regardless of his political surname. A Larger Debate on Accountability This event yet again resurfaces the problem of political rights and abuse of authority. It also observes how viral videos are turning out to be effective vehicles of accountability toward the people.