Controversy over temple-shaped cake cut during Kamal Nath's birthday celebration

Controversy erupted on Wednesday over a 'temple-shaped' birthday cake with a picture of Hanuman prepared for Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Kamal Nath's birthday celebrations. As a video of the celebration emerged on social media, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed it an "insult of Hindus".

During Nath's three-day visit to his hometown Chhindwara, his supporters celebrated his birthday, which falls on November 18, in advance. In the video, Nath, who calls himself "Hanuman-bhakt" (a devotee of Hanuman), is seen with the cake. The celebration apparently took place at the former chief minister's house in Chhindwara on Tuesday evening.

BJP's National Information & Technology Dept in-charge Amit Malviya tweeted a link to the video.



When asked about it by reporters at the BJP office on Wednesday, Chouhan said, "Congress was against the Ram temple. Now they remember Hanuman ji only for votes... They put Hanuman ji's picture on the cake and then cut it. This is an insult to Hindu religion and Sanatan tradition." When contacted, MP Congress Media Department chairman KK Mishra said he was unaware of the controversy.