Ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray renewed his call for the removal of loudspeakers from mosques across Maharashtra, pledging that, if elected, he would ensure no mosque in the state is equipped with them.
“Loudspeakers that create trouble for people will not be allowed. If they are at a temple and are playing for 365 days, then remove them too. But loudspeakers are not played in temples all the time. People just go to a temple, touch the feet of God and come back within a minute,” Thackeray stated.
He recalled his previous protests against loudspeakers, noting, “I protested against loudspeakers when Balasaheb Thackeray’s son was the Chief Minister. Cases were filed against 17,000 of my workers. I had simply said that if the loudspeakers are not removed, we will recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques.”
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While campaigning for the assembly polls, Thackeray highlighted that he had raised this issue last year, cautioning that his party would recite Hanuman Chalisa across Maharashtra if loudspeakers were not removed. “Give me power, and I will ensure there’s not a single loudspeaker on any mosque in Maharashtra,” he asserted, further alleging that some Muslim leaders were using mosques to issue fatwas calling for votes in favor of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
On Thursday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Kankavli assembly constituency, Nitesh Rane, expressed support for MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s stance on removing loudspeakers from mosques, calling them illegal and in violation of a High Court order.
“Look, the loudspeakers that are installed on mosques are all illegal; they violate the High Court’s order. What Raj Thackeray ji is saying, and what every Hindu activist says, is that if there is to be religious harmony in Maharashtra, and if one law is to apply to all religions, then the laws that apply to Hindus must also apply to others,” Rane stated. He emphasized that laws applicable to Hindus should similarly apply to the Muslim community.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra Congress chief and party candidate from Sakoli, Nana Patole, criticized Thackeray’s statement, stressing that the Constitution grants individuals the right to practice their religion.
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