Maharashtra home minister says govt taking Raj Thackeray statement seriously

Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said on Wednesday that the state government will be taking stern action against those who sought to pollute communal harmony in the state by making sectarian comments.

Mumbai:Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said on Wednesday that the state government will be taking stern action against those who sought to pollute communal harmony in the state by making sectarian comments. "There are some political figures who are making statements about a particular religion and sect, which has created an atmosphere of unrest in the state and the country. Taking it seriously, the police department is keeping an eye on all of them.

If there is any attempt to spoil the atmosphere in the state due to these statements, action will be taken against them," Patil said. Patil's comment comes days after MNS chief Raj Thackeray's warning to members of the Muslim community. Thackeray had noted in his speech that if the use of loudspeakers are not stopped in mosques, then he would put up loudspeakers in front of mosques and play Hanuman Chalisa.

In this regard, Maulana Mahmood Daryabadi, General Secretary of the Ulema Council, said, "the manner in which the situation is being aggravated by chanting slogans in front of mosques in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and other parts of the country is all under a conspiracy. What is happening is that the most shocking thing is that in just a few hours, the government demolished the houses of Muslims with bulldozers. Where is the justice?".

After the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief's comment, an MNS leader and a taxi driver had recently been arrested in Mumbai while playing Hanuman Chalisa in front of a mosque.