Woman who gifted him birthday cake says 'Mere Bhaiyya' was written on it and not 'Bhaiyya'

It was supposed to be a fun day for Raj Thackeray on June 14. He had just turned 40 and was cutting a cake given to him by family friend Rita Gupta. But now a video clipping of the cake cutting, which had the word 'Bhaiyya' on it, has dragged Raj into a fresh controversy. 

Bhaiyya is the Mumbai slang for north Indians, especially those from UP and Bihar. And even though the MNS has said that the cake has the words 'Mere Bhaiyya' and not just 'Bhaiyya', the Madhya Pradesh MLA who released the video is unhappy. "If that is the case, why can't 'Mere' be seen on the cake in the video," said Kishore Samrite, the Samajwadi Party MLA for MP's Lanji constituency.

Samrite had recently offered Rs 1 crore as supari for killing Raj.

MNS women's wing office bearer Shweta Parulkar told MiD DAY that Gupta has been presenting similar cakes to Raj for many years, as he is like a brother to her. "This controversy created over a cake is nothing but a political stunt," she added.

Meanwhile, party insiders are trying to find out who shot the close family affair, where only a select few were present, on a cellphone and how the clip reached Samrite.

No action  against MLA?

S K Rout, director general of police, Madhya Pradesh, ruled out any action against Samrite for threatening to kill Raj. He told MiD DAY he has not come across any statement made by the SP MLA where he offered Rs 1 crore as supari for killing Raj nor has anyone brought it to his notice. "It is also important to know where and under what circumstances such a statement was made before deciding any course of action," he added.