Thane: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray has been booked under the Arms Act for allegedly brandishing a sword at a public rally in Thane, according to State Home Department. Along with Thackeray, a case has also been registered against MNS leader Avinash Jadhav and Ravindra More at Naupada Police Station in Thane.
The case against Thackeray comes after he warned the Maha Vikas Aghadi government that it should remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, failing which MNS workers will install speakers outside mosques and play the Hanuman Chalisa. Thackeray called the issue a social one and said that he will not back down on the subject, while also challenging the Shiv Sena government to "do whatever you want to do".
Earlier on Wednesday, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said 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.
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.
Read: Maharashtra home minister says govt taking Raj Thackeray statement seriously
with Agency inputs
