Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday said that his party workers would play the Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques if loudspeakers are not removed by the State government.
He targeted Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar while addressing a rally at Shivaji Park here on Gudi Padwa, but chose to not to utter a word against BJP. Instead, he said that Uttar Pradesh results showed that development work was taking place in that State.
“Why do you need loudspeakers outside mosques? Did loudspeakers exist when the religion was shaped? Let me tell the government to remove those speakers, and if it fails to do, MNS workers will play Hanuman Chalisa in front of every mosque,” said Mr. Thackeray.
Slamming Mr. Uddhav, his cousin and Shiv Sena president, he said that the Sena-ruled BMC is responsible for “creating slums filled with people from Pakistan and Bangladesh”.
Taunting the Chief Minister over his decision to snap ties with the BJP over CM’s post and also on ED notices to Sena leaders, Mr. Thackeray said, “If you are going to play politics with them, then they too will play politics with you.”
His speech also made it clear that the MNS is ready for Hindutva politics.
Caste politics
“I want to talk about Hindutva. But tell me, how can one carry a flag of Hindutva if caste politics is being played. It is NCP and Sharad Pawar who are responsible for caste politics in Maharashtra. Since the party’s inception in 1999, the State has seen caste politics being intensified,” he said.
