THANE: MNS chief Raj Thackeray issued a veiled warning to the state government, Tuesday, asking it to ensure loud speakers installed atop mosques were removed by May 3 and claimed his party would not budge from its stance till the matter was resolved.
Thackeray repeated his stance on the nuisance caused by the loudspeakers, installed on mosques, at the public assembly in Thane barely a fortnight after his Gudi Padwa address to party workers in Mumbai. He chided the state home department for failing to implement the Supreme Court guidelines on the issue.
“I request the state government to talk with the religious leaders and ensure that the louspeakers from the mosques are removed by May 3. We are not opposed to prayers but what is the need to cause inconvenience to others especially students, the elderly and the ailing. If the state fails to act we will intensify our drives and play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers also,” he said.
While Thackeray launched a frontal attack on the NCP and its leaders, he surprisingly dodged speaking about the Shiv Sena, with the exception of taking a veiled dig at Sanjay Raut, during his hour long speech held in the core city area. Taking a dig at those criticizing his party wave to be diminishing, Thackeray said that these very people don't lose an opportunity to respond to his party's actions.
He also accused the state government to be deliberately deflecting from resolving the reservation issue so that the polls to local bodies could get delayed.
He raised questions on the frequent meetings between Sharad Pawar and prime minister Narendra Modi and pointed out if there was a connection between these meetings and raids conducted on the properties of Ajit Pawar and his close relatives and other party leaders. Thackeray minced no words as he went on verbally attacking NCP leaders Jayant Patil, Jitendra Awhad and even Chaggan Bhujbal.
Speaking about the reactions given by politicians over Enforcement Directorate raids, Thackeray said even he had received summons in the past and he went to the office and clarified his stance while taking a dig at those alleging victimisation bt the centre.
Snapping at his detractors for criticising him for frequently changing stances on Hindutva and BJP, Thackeray reminded that his party was the first to raise voice against the violent protest by Raza Academy at Azad Maidan and also the ouster of Pakistan artistes from the Indian entertainment industry.
