On November 16, the BJP attacked Kamal Nath, the former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh and leader of the state Congress, when a video appeared in which he was seen allegedly cutting a cake in the shape of a temple with the image of Hanuman on it. At the request of followers, Nath reportedly cut the cake in Shikarpur, Chhindwara. On November 18, his birthday, they were commemorating it. The Congress has forbidden Nath from slicing any cake decorated with a temple.
Soon after the ‘film’ of the cake-cutting went viral, the BJP attacked Nath, branding him a pseudo-Hindu. ‘Acts like these, when Kamal Nath ji cut a cake with a temple design on it, expose Congress leaders who profess to be sanatani Hindus,’ said state home minister Narottam Mishra, who has recently been at the forefront of advocating Hindu concerns even within the BJP. Mahmud Ghazni and Mohd Ghauri committed such violent crimes against temples and idols. Today, Ghauri and Ghazni come to mind. Not to be a ‘election [time] Hindu,’ Mishra commanded Nath.
Despite being in trouble, the Congress provided an intriguing justification. On November 17, the BJP’s media coordinator K.K. Mishra claimed, ‘The BJP is in the habit of lying and is trying to deflect attention from the forthcoming Bharat Jodo Yatra, which is to enter Madhya Pradesh next week.’ ‘There was no temple carved into the cake that was cut. The cake was not cut, and a thermocol model of a temple was placed next to it.’
His supporters have labelled Nath as a follower of Lord Hanuman. They cite a 101.8-foot-tall Hanuman idol that was commissioned and created at Simariya, close to Chhindwara, per Nath’s directions. An annual Hanuman celebration is held at the temple.
Keerti Sudhanshu, the woman who delivered the cake to Nath’s house, has since expressed regret and said: ‘It was my responsibility that I obtained the cake. Instead, ‘saheb’ (Kamal Nath) is now the target of attacks because of the cake. No one was intended to be harmed.’
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