MNS CAMPAIGN HURTS HINDUS, SAYS CONGRESS

MUMBAI: Congress has alleged that the campaign begun by Raj Thackeray and his Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) against the loudspeakers installed on mosques to give the call for prayers has hurt the Hindus and this could lead to restrictions being imposed on Hindu festivals and rituals.

The MNS chief had asked party cadre to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques from May 4 at double the volume if they did not take down their loudspeakers. This is seen as an attempt by Thackeray to strike a political alliance or understanding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on the issue of Hindutva while trying to corner Shiv Sena, which has been forced to dilute its right-wing agenda after allying with ‘secular’ forces like Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party.

Congress general secretary Sachin Sawant said, “The politics by the MNS chief on loudspeakers is working against the Hindus. The quest to pull down loudspeakers put up on mosques can lead to restrictions on their use in Hindu festivals. Now, the Muslim community has on its own stopped [the use of loudspeakers for] morning azaan [Islamic call for prayers], but kakad aratis [early morning aratis] have been stopped as well.” Pointing to how these aratis had been stopped at the Shirdi and Trimbakeshwar temples, he asked, “Who is responsible for this?”

On Thursday, no loudspeakers were used in the kakad aratis that are performed at the crack of dawn in prominent temples across Maharashtra like Shirdi, which is famous for the shrine of saint Sai Baba, and Trimbakeshwar, which has a jyotirlinga of Lord Shiva. This led to devotees not being able to hear the prayers.