New Delhi: In a new twist to the ongoing controversy over Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray’s call to ban loudspeakers in mosques, the Pune unit of the MNS said Friday that it will play Hanuman Chalisa outside police stations in the city, if cops fail to ensure the removal of loudspeakers from Muslim places of worship.
In a letter marked to Amitabh Gupta, commissioner of police, Pune — a copy of which is with ThePrint — Pune MNS general secretary Hemant Sambush demanded written assurance from maulvis (or Muslim religious leaders) of all mosques in Pune that they will have loudspeakers removed from mosques.
“We were directed by the MNS chief to keep the agitation going till loudspeakers were removed from mosques. Loudspeakers are a social issue and we do not want to create a religious rift about it,” he wrote.
“We are not against azaan (call for prayers), but we are adamant that it should not be done on loudspeakers. The maulvi of all these mosques should inform us in writing through the police that they have removed or stopped ‘azaan’ on loudspeakers, so that the law and order shouldn’t be disturbed,” the letter stated.
The letter also mentioned that there are around 450 mosques in the city and almost all of them have loudspeakers. Sambush has said in the letter said that either the loudspeakers should be removed or kept permanently unused so that those living in the area are not disturbed.
While commissioner Gupta told ThePrint that they have not yet received any such letter from MNS, commenting on the MNS leader’s threat of playing the Hanuman Chalisa outside police stations, he added, “Nobody will be allowed to take law and order in their hands. Police will do its duty to maintain peace and order”.
Last month Raj Thackeray had given the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra an ultimatum — to take action against the use of loudspeakers in Maharashtra by 3 May.
‘Police pressuring us to stop protest’
In his letter to the Pune police commissioner, Sambush “warned” the police of consequences if their demands are not met.
“If our demand is not met immediately, then we will start playing Hanuman Chalisa in front of the police station,” he wrote.
Talking to ThePrint Saturday, Sainath Babar, MNS Pune unit chief, said, “We have been asked by MNS Chief Raj Thackeray to continue the protest till loudspeakers are removed”.
He added: “We have not yet provided any deadline for the written assurance. Police was pressuring us to stop the protest and a letter has been written to assure them that the protest will continue and we will also provide the deadline soon.”
In a rally in Aurangabad on 1 May, Thackeray had hit out at the Maharashtra government on the issue of loudspeakers.
(Edited by Poulomi Banerjee)
Also read: Loudspeakers & ‘Maha Aartis’ — why temple-mosque politics keeps making a comeback in Maharashtra