On Wednesday, Congress MP Nakul Nath from Chhindwara triggered a controversy by wiping off the tilak on his forehead before he along with his Congress supporters entered a Muslim majority area in his constituency in Madhya Pradesh. Nakul Nath, who is the son of former Madhya Pradesh CM Kamal Nath, was in the Parasia area of Madhya Pradesh for an election campaign.
According to the reports, Nath removed the kumkum tilak which is an important symbol of Hinduism, before he entered the Islamist-dominated area in Parasia, Chhindwara district. He was handed over a handkerchief with which he wiped the tilak off from his forehead. The video of the incident went viral over social media and was criticized by BJP leaders.
BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted the video and slammed the Chhindwara Congress MP for disrespecting the symbol of Hinduism. “Kamal Nath’s son Nakul Nath removed tilak before entering in ‘their’ area”, he captioned the video.
Kamalnath Son Nakulnath removed tilak before entering in their area pic.twitter.com/8R2m4fdjIb
— Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) July 12, 2022
Another BJP member posted the video and said that Nakul Nath, by rubbing off the Tilak had exposed the Congress party’s mentality. “Kamal Nath’s son, Nakul Nath did not just remove his tilak before entering this peaceful area, he also exposed the Congress mentality in doing so. People like him are vultures feeding on the innocence of the public to build their castles”, he said.
Kamal Nath’s son, Nakul Nath did not just remove his tilak before entering this peaceful area, he also exposed the Congress mentality in doing so.
— Ankur (@Ankur4BJP) July 13, 2022
People like him are vultures feeding on innocence of the public to build their own castles.
pic.twitter.com/6W8MIc2sjf
The video was first posted on Facebook Live by Nakul Nath himself. It soon went viral over other social media platforms enraging the Hindus. Meanwhile, the Congress media cell in-charge K K Mishra defended Nakul Nath and said that he was wiping off the sweat amid the campaign. “The tweet by BJP leaders is politically motivated and that shows their mentality”, he said.
Mishra also added that it is common for any leader to wipe off the sweat during rallies and campaigns and that BJP was using the ‘very common’ incident for their political benefits. Pertinently, the video that went viral over social media was later removed from the Facebook account of Nakul Nath. The video should have remained intact if the leader was just wiping off his sweat and not the Kumkum tilak before entering the Muslim-dominated area in Chhindwara.