Raj Thackeray’s provocative ‘remove loudspeakers before mosques’ speech unacceptable in progressive Maharashtra, says Ajit Pawar

MNS chief’s own partymen reportedly unhappy with Raj Thackeray’s remarks as they fear alienating Muslim voters

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Mumbai: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar severely reprimanded Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray for his demand for the removal of loudspeakers from mosques. The Deputy Chief Minister remarked that making divisive speeches merely to secure political mileage was unacceptable in Maharashtra that is formed on the bedrock of the progressive ideals of “Shahu, Phule and Ambedkar”.

Speaking in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district on Wednesday, Ajit Pawar took the MNS chief to task for his Gudi Padwa day (Maharashtrian New Year) speech at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park last week. It may be recalled that Raj Thackeray had exhorted his party workers to ‘combat’ the Azaan from the Mosques with Hanuman Chalisa. The MNS chiefs’ remarks were not accepted even by some MNS leaders, he added.

The Deputy Chief Minister said “Making inflammatory speeches of this kind will not solve people’s problems. Despite ordinary people living in harmony, some leaders are deliberately trying to disrupt the peace…even his (Raj Thackeray’s) own corporators are raising objections at this speech and are saying that such statements will hamper their chances of winning the civic polls.”

Maharashtra Home Minister and senior NCP leader Dilip Walse-Patil, recently had halted his own speech at an event during the Azaan, said that Raj Thackeray’s speech would merely heighten social tensions.

In his Gudi Padwa day speech, Raj Thackeray, advocating a hard ‘Hindutva’ line, had demanded the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress to remove loudspeakers from the mosques or else his MNS party workers would do so by force and play the Hanuman Chalisa instead.

However, the MNS chief’s speech has met with mixed reactions from his own partymen as a number of MNS leaders have refused to implement it for fear of alienating their Muslim voters.

MNS’ Pune city president Vasant More has reportedly refused to play Hanuman Chalisa in front of the mosques in his ward. While, two local MNS Muslim leaders from the city have apparently submitted their resignations following Raj Thackeray’s speech.

Meanwhile, NCP Minister Chhagan Bhujbal claimed that Raj Thackeray has “changed track” and started tilting towards the BJP after the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which has been after the MVA leadership since the past several months, had grilled the MNS chief in 2019 in a money laundering case.

Although the MNS did not contest the 2019 Lok Sabha election, Raj Thackeray had spiritedly campaigned for the Congress and the NCP against the BJP. The campaign, despite drawing large crowds, flopped as the then alliance of the BJP and the Shiv Sena won with huge margins in the very constituencies the MNS chief had held his rallies.

In the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly election held in October that year, Raj Thackeray finally contested on 100 assembly seats, winning only one Kalyan Rural assembly seat.

Since then, the MNS has changed its ideological direction by veering towards Hindutva politics, which was signalled by the MNS adopting a saffron flag incorporating Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s royal seal or ‘Rajmudra’ in 2020.

In recent times, Raj Thackeray’s party has inched ever closer to the BJP in an attempt on the MNS’s part to seize the Hindutva space from the Sena following the latter’s alliance with the NCP and the Congress.