Mugdha Pradhan, CEO and founder of wellness company iThrive, has come under scrutiny over a video in which she appears to defend the use of abusive language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his late mother and says she would give him “one forgiving slap” if she met him.
Pradhan, who describes herself on X as a practitioner of “Functional Medicine · Quantum Biology · Breathwork · Peptides” and identifies herself as the CEO and founder of iThrive, made the remarks while apparently making a video with her partner.
The comments came while discussing the controversy surrounding abusive language directed at the Prime Minister and his late mother during the ongoing protests.
“I Feel Like F**king Giving Them A Slap”
In the video, Pradhan questions why a young woman who used profanity against political leaders was required to publicly apologise.
She describes India’s political leadership as consisting of “sexist, f**king old pricky patriarchal” men and asks why women should not be allowed to express anger through profanity.
She then compares the controversy over abusive language with other issues in India, arguing that political leaders should be more concerned about governance than offensive words.
“I feel like f**king giving them a slap,” she says while referring to “all the old men” in political leadership.
Her partner responds that elected representatives are ultimately a reflection of the society that votes for them and argues that women should stand up for young people using profanity as an expression of anger.
“I Teach All The Young Women The Juiciest Vocabulary”
Pradhan then says that she actively encourages young women associated with iThrive to use profanity.
“You know what I do at iThrive? I teach all the young women the juiciest vocabulary that I have learned with 47 years,” she says.
She says she wants young women to break away from what she describes as restrictive notions of sanskar and argues that women should be able to express anger without being censored for their language.
She also dismisses the significance of the abusive language by comparing it with garbage and poor sanitation in India.
Her argument is essentially that political leaders should be more concerned about what she describes as the “dirt” in the country than about the words used against them.
“One Forgiving Slap I’ll Give You If I Meet You”
The strongest remarks come towards the end of the video.
Pradhan directly addresses the Prime Minister and says:
“One forgiving slap I’ll give you if I meet you.”
She then tells “old men” in political leadership:
“Get out of my country. Get out of those roles that you’re in.”
She concludes by saying:
“It’s time the younger ones took up the mantle.”
The remarks go beyond criticism of government policy. They explicitly contemplate physically striking the Prime Minister while simultaneously defending abusive language directed at him.
Ladies and Gentlemen – Meet @mugdhap, CEO of @iThrive
She’s not only justifying all filthy abuses girls have spoken at Jantar Mantar to our PM Modi and to his deceased Mother, SHE ALSO WANTS TO SLAP MODI HARD!
These are ungrateful pitches (sorry for the typo) who are living in… pic.twitter.com/yxBh2CedlN
— Roop Darak (@RoopDarak) August 6, 2026
From Free Expression To Selective Outrage?
The episode raises a broader question about how political speech is judged.
There is a legitimate argument to be made that political leaders should tolerate harsh criticism, satire and even offensive political speech. But that principle becomes difficult to sustain consistently when the same people who demand unrestricted expression for one side respond differently when similar language is directed at political figures they support.
Pradhan’s remarks also raise questions because she is not merely an ordinary social-media commentator. She presents herself as the CEO and founder of a company with a significant public-facing wellness brand.
The distinction between criticising a political leader and threatening or contemplating physical violence matters. Saying that one wants to “slap” a political leader is not simply a policy critique.
The Bigger Question
The controversy is therefore not simply about whether profanity should be permitted in political discourse.
It is about whether political anger has become a licence for increasingly personal and abusive rhetoric and whether the standards applied to such rhetoric depend on who is being targeted.
Criticism of the Prime Minister, the government and political institutions is entirely legitimate in a democracy.
But if political expression is being defended as a fundamental right, that defence should not require normalising statements about physically assaulting political opponents.
For Pradhan, the question is particularly direct: is this the kind of political expression she believes should be encouraged among the young women she says she mentors including telling them that profanity and talk of physically slapping political leaders are legitimate forms of political empowerment?
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