It’s now or never, Thackeray urges citizens to complain

As preventive action, Raj Thackeray has been served notice under Sec 149 of CRPC by Mumbai police

MUMBAI: “It’s now or never,” tweeted Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Tuesday, as he appealed to his ‘fellow Hindus’ to broadcast Hanuman Chalisa whenever they hear prayers from the mosques.

Although toned down, Raj stuck to his ultimatum and taunted his cousin and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on whether he wished to listen to his late father Balasaheb Thackeray or Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar.

To decide the party’s next plan of action, Raj met with senior MNS leaders. According to them, Raj said that the plan remains unchanged but workers should take prior permission of the local police to stage protests. Most of the party leaders seconded his view as the campaign has gained nationwide popularity and the party plans on further capitalising on this opportunity. However, his post on Twitter does not mention anything about permission.

Raj said that citizens need to adopt a three-fold campaign against these loudspeakers. “Hanuman Chalisa should be broadcasted opposite the mosques. All local associations and individuals need to undertake a signature campaign against these loudspeakers. Locals should dial 100 (police helpline) as soon as the loudspeaker starts and complain to the police department about the inconvenience caused to them,” he posted on social media.

In his statement, Thackeray quoted the Supreme Court’s judgement and said that it’s time to implement the guidelines issued by the apex court. He said if permissions are given to mosques, even temples should be allowed to do similar things. He welcomed the mosques who have decided to bring down the loudspeakers and said it was the responsibility of the local Hindus to ensure there is no trouble with such mosques. He added that the government does not have enough prisons to accommodate the Hindus.

Meanwhile, the MVA government has filed a case against Raj for provocative speech at his Aurangabad rally on Tuesday and has also begun preventive action against MNS leaders and workers. The police department has issued notices to 15,000 MNS, BJP and other party workers and asked most to stay away from the city between May 3 and 7.

They have been warned that any violation will result in action under Section 188. Late at night, the Mumbai and Navi Mumbai police also raided MNS offices and took custody of several local MNS leaders.

Reacting to these notices, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said, “When we speak against a violation, we are slapped with notices, while no action is being taken against those who broke laws for years.”