Raj Thackeray says no ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ chants on Eid, loudspeaker a social issue

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday appealed to his party workers to not perform the announced ‘Maha Aarti’ on the occasion of ‘Akshay Tritiya’ on May 3 as he doesn’t want to create any obstacle for Muslims during the Eid festival.

He reiterated that his campaign against loudspeakers was a social issue and he would disclose his future plans through Twitter on Tuesday.

“The loudspeaker issue is not a religious matter but a subject of public interest. What further needs to be done, I will inform tomorrow through my Twitter handle,” the MNS president tweeted.

Amid the ongoing political row over the use of loudspeakers at mosques, Raj Thackeray on Sunday had warned and said if loudspeakers are not taken down then the Hanuman Chalisa would be played with double volume compared to Azaan (a call for prayer by Muslims) from May 4.

The MNS chief termed the use of loudspeakers in mosques as “a social and not a religious issue” and exhorted that he was firm on the May 3 deadline for their removal.

Thackeray said loudspeaker is not a religious issue but it is a national issue and warned that if they don’t stop, then we will also take a stand.

“This is not a religious issue. It is a national issue but if you stop us, we will also take a stand. All the loudspeaker speaker is not under the law and it is illegal. The Supreme Court already said it was illegal, it was not a matter of Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). When we take sabha they say it was an education zone, a temple zone, you can’t take sabha, but for them, there is an objection. Who gave you rights?” asked the MNS chief.