With the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) refusing to budge on its ‘ultimatum’ to the Maharashtra government to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, State Home Minister Dilip Walse-Patil on Wednesday said he would soon hold a meeting with top leaders of all political parties in the State as well as some organisations before taking a final decision on the matter.
Speaking to presspersons in Mumbai, Mr. Walse-Patil, who did not specify the date of the meet, said that invites for the all-party meet would also extend to Mr. Raj Thackeray and not just the ruling three-party Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
The Home Minister further said that loudspeakers could be installed only after seeking permission from the police as stipulated by law.
Mr. Thackeray exhorted MNS activists to play the Hanuman Chalisa if the government or the minority community failed to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3.
The Home Minister has already issued a thinly-veiled warning to the MNS that if any person or outfit attempts to create an atmosphere of social discord or unrest in Maharashtra, they would be sternly prosecuted and has said that the Maharashtra police were well-prepared to cope with any untoward incident.
Mr. Walse-Patil further informed that Maharashtra Director General of Police (DGP) Rajnish Seth held a meeting with the top police authorities on the issue of loudspeakers on Tuesday and had already submitted a report to him today on the potential scenarios that may arise owing to the ongoing problem and the steps needed to counter them.
The Home Minister reiterated that no one ought to divide communities and appealed to everyone to maintain social harmony and not take the law into their hands.
Alluding to the Supreme Court’s judgement on noise pollution in 2005, Mr. Walse-Patil said that the State government had already issued some government resolutions (GR) in that regard in 2015 and 2017.
Mr. Walse-Patil’s colleague in the MVA, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut lambasted the MNS and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the politicisation of loudspeakers under the name of ‘Hindutva.’
“The ideals of ‘Hindutva’ are getting defamed because of this drama that is being played out,” said the Sena leader pointing out that loudspeakers in mosques were very much present in Prime Minister Modi’s state of Gujarat and in Bihar, where the BJP is part of the ruling coalition
Deliberately instigation
“Because of the controversy that has been deliberately instigated by some outfits, there ought to be a national policy on loudspeakers by PM Modi,” said Mr. Raut.
He demanded that the BJP-led Centre first put this policy to action in Delhi, Bihar and Gujarat before demanding the removal of loudspeakers from mosques in Maharashtra.
“Maharashtra is a law-abiding state and we will readily follow suit. But first, loudspeakers from mosques must be removed in these states,” said the Sena leader, who has accused the MNS of acting as the BJP’s ‘b-team’ by deliberately attempting to stoke communal hatred by raking up the loudspeaker issue.
While a notification from the State government on the issue is awaited, the Nashik police on Monday had already issued orders prohibiting the playing of the Hanuman Chalisa or bhajans on loudspeakers 15 minutes before and after the offering of the Azaan and within a 100 metre-radius of the mosque premises.
The MNS chief is planning a mega-rally in Aurangabad city (which is the Shiv Sena’s stronghold) on this issue.
Meanwhile, Mr. Walse-Patil said that the Aurangabad police commissioner had received letters demanding the cancellation of Mr. Thackeray’s rally in Aurangabad city. He said that the police would take a call in this regard after assessing the situation.
The MNS-Sena sabre-rattling in Aurangabad is already intensifying with the latter party putting up hoardings with cartoons mocking Mr. Raj Thackeray’s ‘superficial Hindutva’. The MNS leaders in Aurangabad, however, have said that Mr. Thackeray’s public address on May 1 will go ahead as planned regardless of whether or not police permission was granted.
