Maharashtra's Former Top Lawyer Cuts A Cake, Sparks Controversy

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra Advocate General Srihari Aney, who quit the post recently over his remarks supporting separate statehood for Marathwada, has courted a fresh controversy after photographs emerged of him cutting into four pieces a birthday cake featuring a map of the state.

The photographs were taken at his 66th birthday celebrations at Bhandara in Vidarbha on Tuesday midnight.

Mr Aney, an eminent lawyer, has long been a strong proponent of a separate Vidarbha state.

Reacting to the matter, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said Mr Aney "will remember this birthday for a long time".

Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil said "nothing better" can be expected from someone like Mr Aney.

Mr Aney, known to be close to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, stepped down as the AG after his remarks that Marathwada, too, should become a separate state created a furore.