The National Commission for Women (NCW) has, through a letter to the Election Commission of India (ECI), called for ‘strict action’ against Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate and party leader HS Ahir for their ‘lewd and derogatory’ social media posts against actor Kangana Ranaut, it said on Monday.

“NCW is appalled by the disgraceful conduct of Ms. Supriya Shrinate and Mr HS Ahir. Such behaviour is intolerable and goes against the dignity of women. (NCW chief) Rekha Sharma has sent a letter to ECI demanding immediate and strict against them. Let’s uphold respect and dignity for all women,” NCW posted on X (formerly Twitter).

Reacting to Shrinate’s purported remarks on Ranaut, Sharma too wrote on X: “You (Kangana) are a fighter and shining star. Keep shining, all the best. Writing to ECI.”

The controversy began on Monday after a post was made from the Instagram handle of Shrinate, who handles social media for the Congress. It targeted Ranaut over her candidature for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“Can someone tell what is the current rate in Mandi (market)?” the post read. It was made next to a picture of the actor, who has been fielded by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) from the Mandi Lok Sabha constituency in Himachal Pradesh, her home state.

Shrinate, a former journalist, later clarified that ‘many people’ have access to her Facebook and Instagram accounts, and someone from there made the ‘extremely inappropriate’ post, which has since been deleted.

“Everyone who knows me, also knows very well that I can never make personal and indecent comments towards any woman. I wanted to know how this happened,” she said in a video statement.

Ahir, a Congress leader from Gujarat, gave a similar ‘explanation.’

“Someone who had access to my X accounts posted an absolutely disgusting and objectionable post, which has been taken down,” he stated on the social media platform.

While the BJP has demanded that the Congress take action in the matter, there is no response yet from the grand old party or any of its senior leaders.