The Pradesh Congress President, Radhakishan Malviya, obviously under instructions from Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, who, according to some reports, fears that his bid to recapture power for the third time in a row might end in failure with a Hindutva leader like Uma Bharati pitted against him, promptly issued a statement saying since women are barred from entering the Hanuman temple, Uma Bharati, sadhvi or not, "is a woman and had violated Hindu traditions by entering the holy precincts of the temple of Lord Hanuman.

"Uma has shown disrespect to Lord Hanuman and hurt Hindu sentiments by offering a cake containing eggs for puja," Malaviya said. The managing committee of the temple is also unhappy. The chairman of the temple, Devraj Paturkar, said: "There is a notice outside the temple which clearly states "Is Mandir Mein Kisi Bhi Kism Ki Rajnitik Gatividhiyian Pratibandhit Hai (Political activities are not allowed in the temple), but both Uma Bharti and another Central Government Minister, Arun Jaitley, who was accompanying her, did not bother to abide by the rules. On the contrary, they used the temple for political purposes and launched their Rath Yatra from here."

Poor Uma, the most forceful speaker recognised not only in Parliament but also outside, really does not know how to tackle the situation. She has demanded a CBI probe into the allegations against her only to show that the charges being levelled against her are false. She is fighting with her back to the wall. She repeatedly tells her detractors: "The cake had no eggs. It was made of nothing but pure milk. And it was my personal faith for I used candles for aarti."

Uma and Jaitley, who is Central Minister for Commerce, Industries and Law, had merely sought the blessings of Lord Hanuman by making an offering of a milk cake at the temple. But the Congress seized the opportunity to embarrass Uma who is regarded by the party as a potential threat to Digvijay Singh’s bid to emerge as winner for the third time in the State Assembly elections. Uma, who is always clad in saffron clothing in conformity with the sadhvi traditions, says the cake was "totally vegetarian" and was made of "mawa" (thickened milk). She had made this offering to Lord Hanuman to bless her when she was just going to launch her Sankalp Rath Yatra from Jam Sanvri Hanuman temple in Chhindwara . Her Sankalp Yatra, she claims, was aimed at ending the 10-year misrule of the Digvijay Singh government. She says she had chosen to kick off the Yatra from the Hanuman temple since the day was being observed as Hanuman Jayanti. But according to some reports, Uma placed candles on the cake, just as is the fashion in modern society for celebrating birthdays or achievements, lighted them and sang "Happy birthday to You Hanumanji." Of course, she did aarti with the cake and later cut it and distributed among BJP workers and a group of Dalits and tribals.

No doubt, Uma has always been seen in public clad in saffron robes, and cholas. But whatever her dress, Uma has never been able to hide her charms. She always looked—and still is—very attractive. In fact, seeing her oval face, it often becomes confusing to identify her as a religious devotee. Maybe it is not poor Uma’s fault. The place where she was born and brought up is the home to eternal manifestations of love, as represented by Khajuraho temple sculptures. According to local legend, Hemvati, daughter of a Benares priest, was the original source of the Khajuraho sculptures. This young maiden was so ravishing that even the moon god could not resist her charms. The moon god descended on earth only to make love to Hemvati. Hemvati’s legend is said to be the inspiration behind the Khajuraho temples.