Raj Thackeray says anti-loudspeaker protests will go on

MNS president Raj Thackeray has refused to bow down to police action after his diktat and announced that the Hanuman Chalisa protest would continue as long as loudspeakers remain atop mosques The announcement came as his partyrsquos rank and file were detained by the police Six workers including general secretary Sandeep Deshpande were booked during the day in separate incidents related to the party chiefrsquos callMNS president Raj Thackeray has refused to bow down to the police action and announced that the Hanuman Chalisa protest will continue as long as loudspeakers remain atop mosques The announcement came as his partyrsquos rank and file were detained by the policeMNS president Raj ThackerayDespite being booked for hate speech in Aurangabad Thackeray was unfazed He had appealed to Hindus to retaliate by using high decibel loudspeakers to play Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques that use the public address system PAS if loudspeakers were not pulled down by May 4 MNS and other rightwing organisations attempted disruption on Wednesday but they were foiled by the police In places like Mumbai most mosques avoided confrontation by skipping the use of PAS for morning azaanThackeray lauded the mosques that have either voluntarily removed loudspeakers or did not use them to give morning azaan on Wednesday He thanked the priests for making a collective effort to understand his concern over noise pollution But he demanded police action against 135 mosques in Mumbai that have violated the Supreme Courtrsquos directives by blaring azan before 6 am He demanded that not only Muslim places of worship but those belonging to other religions including Hinduism face the law for violating sound pollution normsPolice stand guard outside a mosque in the wake of MNS agitation at Tilak Nagar Wednesday PicSayyed Sameer AbedildquoThis isnrsquot a oneday protest and not just about morning azaan Protest will continue as long as loudspeakers remain atop mosques and azan is given five times a day Our officebearers and workers have been issued notices and detained for following the SCrsquos directives Why only us who follow rules Why do others get the freedom to do anythingrdquo he askedHe questioned why unauthorised mosques were authorised by the police to use loudspeakers ldquoHow can they get permission for 365 days a year while others are given dayspecific nodrdquo he said adding that counting decibels wasnrsquot the policersquos job but it was for ldquothe people who considered religion over humanityrdquo to help resolve a social issue like thisRaj Thackeray addresses media at his Shivaji Park home Wednesday PicAtul KambleHe said his Aurangabad speech was interrupted by azaan but he told the police to stop it ldquoWhat would have happened if I had told the rallyrsquos audience If they are converting it into a religious issue then we will also do the samerdquo he saidThackeray said it was time to see what action the apex court proposes against the states that have caused contempt by not implementing its directives ldquoWe requested the state government first and when it was not heard we started protesting We donrsquot want communal riots but press for peace in the state and countryrdquo he saidBJP using Raj RautShiv Sena chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the BJP has been using Raj Thackerayrsquos shoulders to fire its guns He said Wednesday was a black day for Hindutva as Hindu temples have been suffering because of the protest ldquoIt is a conspiracy to divide Hindus and strangulate Hindutva The BJP has made Raj Thackeray a sacrificial lamb for its politicsrdquo he said adding that the temples including Shirdirsquos have not been able to use loudspeakers for the morning artilsquoPeople reject divisive politicsrsquoCongress leader and minister of state for Home Satej Patil said Raj Thackerayrsquos agitation was likely to push Maharashtra back by 5 to 6 years and the people of the state have shown that they do not pay heed to the politics of polarisation ldquoThackeray should think if he wants to escalate the problems of inflation and unemployment and prohibit investment from coming to the state by announcing such agitationsrdquo he saidldquoState government and police department have been doing their work We have deployed 87 units of State Reserve Police Force and 30000 home guards to handle the situation in the wake of the call of protest given by Raj Thackerayrdquo he said