The video of the incident has gone viral on social media. Pawar was immediately alerted about the mistake, and he quickly spat it out. He later clarified that he didn't gulp it down. Pawar said that he wanted to drink water before starting his speech and picked up the bottle thinking it's water.
Just after the incident, Pawar rushed out of the hall and rinsed his mouth. He returned within a few minutes and presented the civic body's education budget for 2021-22.
The BMC later removed sanitisers from the meeting table after the incident.