The political slugfest over Lord Hanuman's religion got a new twist when state Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Member of Legislative Council (MLC) Bukkal Nawab on Thursday claimed that the deity was a Muslim.

Speaking to ANI, Nawab claimed that Muslim names are "almost similar" to those of Lord Hanuman.

"I believe that Lord Hanuman was a Muslim. That is why the names of the people in Islam is almost similar to Lord Hanuman, whether it is Rehman, Ramzan, Farman, Zeeshan and Qurban. Such types of names are found in Islam only," said Nawab.

He further claimed that these names were derived from Lord Hanuman; had he not been there these names would not have existed.

During campaigning for recently concluded Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in a poll rally in Alwar had said that Lord Hanuman was a Dalit.

"Hanuman was a forest dweller, deprived and a Dalit. Bajrang Bali worked to connect all Indian communities together, from north to south and east to west," he had said.

Following this, various political parties condemned Adityanath's remarks, with Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav taking a jibe at him, asking the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister to disclose the caste of other deities as well.

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