Maha Home Minister halts speech for Azaan

In a heartening gesture of communal harmony, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil halted his speech for ‘azaan’, the Islamic call to prayer, in Pune. In a viral video, Walse can be seen stopping his speech on the dais as the Azaan is heard in the area. The minister is being hailed for the gesture, which comes on the heels of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray's threat of playing Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques if loudspeakers were not shut down.