Hindus dog Bush over cat's name

Bajrang Dal wants an apology from the US consulate

Activists from a hardline Hindu nationalist group in India have named a puppy George Bush, after the American president, because they are offended that his pet cat is called India.

A spokesman for the Bajrang Dal group in Bombay, Shankar Gaikar, said it could not tolerate what it perceived as an insult, and had decided to get its own back.

How can we tolerate this insult to India? Bush had no right to do this

Bajrang Dal spokesman Shankar Gaikar

The group is seeking an apology from the US consulate in Bombay.

But staff there said the president's cat was actually called India Ink rather than India because of its dark blue-black fur.

The party is now urging members across the state of Maharastra to call other dogs George Bush .

Naming ceremony

The George Bush puppy dog had his day at the weekend. He was placed in an elaborately decorated swing and officially named George Bush at a ceremony held on the outskirts of Bombay.

The cat's name has provoked outrage throughout India

Bajrang Dal workers distributed sugar to hundreds of passers-by, a traditional practice during naming ceremonies in India.

Workers demonstrated outside the US consulate to demand an apology.

A member of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which has links with the Bajrang Dal, alerted the party to the outrage after coming across the first cat's name on the internet.