A day after a video showed Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar rebuking a woman IPS officer, the Congress on Friday said it reflected the levels to which the members of the ruling NDA are "high on their own power" and claimed that his "belated justification" is nothing more than a "face-saving measure".

The video showed Pawar rebuking the woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and asking her to stop action against illegal soil excavation. The NCP leader on Friday said he did not want to interfere but was trying to de-escalate a tense situation.

In the viral video that surfaced on Thursday, Pawar was heard admonishing Anjana Krishna, the sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) of Karmala, over the phone, which drew criticism from the opposition.