Ignoring traditions of the Banke Bihari Temple in Vrindavan, Umesh Gautam, the BJP mayor of Bareilly, celebrated his birthday in front of the idol by cutting a cake and distributing it among his supporters who accompanied him to the shrine.
The mayor and his supporters also asked the priests of the temple to stay silent when they tried to oppose the celebration and reminded him that such activities were prohibited on the temple premises.
Eyewitnesses said the mayor, along with his family, landed at the helipad near the temple in a chopper and walked into the shrine. His security personnel and associates stopped the devotees from entering the temple. Durgesh Bihari Goswami, a priest on duty at the time of the incident, said: "I didn’t know that he was carrying a cake. I saw it when they came and put it there. I opposed but they shouted and silenced me."
Ashok Kumar, president of the Sri Banke Bihari Temple Management Committee, said: "We have received a video in which the mayor is seen celebrating his birthday. We have sought a reply from him. We will discuss this issue in our next meeting and ensure that such things don’t happen again."
Gautam was quoted as saying in Bareilly that he had informed the temple administration and nobody had objected to it. Bareilly is 220km east of Vrindavan in Mathura.