Muslims should understand religion isn't bigger than law: Raj Thackeray fires fresh salvo amid loudspeaker row

“We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. But if you (Muslims) do it on loudspeaker, then we'll also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law,” said Raj Thackeray.

(Credits: ANI)

New Delhi: Amid the ongoing loudspeaker row, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Sunday (April 17, 2022), while addressing a press conference, clarified that his demand to remove loudspeakers from mosques has not stemmed from his opposition to the offering of the prayers by Muslims. Thackeray also said that his party doesn’t want any riots in Maharashtra. 

“We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. But if you (Muslims) do it on loudspeaker, then we'll also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law. After May 3, I'll see what to do,” said Raj Thackeray. 

We don't want riots in Maharashtra. No one has opposed the offering of prayers. But if you (Muslims) do it on loudspeaker, then we'll also use loudspeakers for it. Muslims should understand that religion isn't bigger than the law.After May 3,I'll see what to do: Raj Thackeray,MNS pic.twitter.com/SwtsJIPiq5 — ANI (@ANI) April 17, 2022

Raj Thackeray on Delhi Jahangirpuri violence

While talking about the attack on a Hanuman Jayanti procession on Saturday, Raj Thackeray said, "I think that such things should be answered in a similar manner, otherwise, those people will not understand..."

"If our processions are attacked then we won't stay calm. Our hands are not tied. Don't force us to pick up weapons," he added. 

Raj Thackeray to visit Ayodhya in June

Raising the pitch for Hindutva, MNS president Raj Thackeray on Sunday said he will visit Ayodhya on June 5 to take darshan of Lord Ram and appealed to "Hindu brothers" to "be prepared" if loudspeakers are not removed from mosques by May 3.

Stating that loudspeakers relaying the 'azan' call is more a social issue than a religious one, Raj Thackeray said they don't want peace in the society disturbed, "but if the use of loudspeakers continues then they (Muslims) will also have to listen to our prayers on loudspeakers".

"On May 1, I will address a public gathering at Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad). On June 5, I will visit Ayodhya for darshan along with MNS volunteers. I also appeal to others to come to Ayodhya," the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) president told a press conference in Pune.

Earlier, during the Gudi Padwa rally, Raj Thackeray had issued an ultimatum to shut down loudspeakers in mosques by  May 3, as the Azaan row escalated in the state.

Following his statement, the Maharashtra government had taken a strong stand against Thackeray. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut even compared Raj Thackeray's role in Maharashtra with that of Asaduddin Owaisi in Uttar Pradesh. 

"There were attempts to jeopardise peace in Maharashtra but people and police here are peaceful. Some people had mission to provoke riots in name of Ram and Hanuman through 'new Owaisi'...'Hindu Owaisi' of the state...We won't let that happen," Raut said on Sunday.

Even Lord Ram will be restless over developments: Sanjay Raut

Meanwhile, in a veiled barb at BJP, Sanjay Raut on Sunday said that stoking communal fires in the name of Shriram is an insult to the very "idea of Lord Ram". 

Lord Ram will be restless over the developments in Madhya Pradesh's Khargone, where communal clashes on Ram Navami led to the imposition of curfew, Raut added. 

In his weekly column "Rokhthok", Raut wrote, "if someone wants to stoke the fire of fundamentalism and disturb the peace to win elections, they are sowing seeds of a second Partition".

Referring to communal clashes in various parts of the country on Ram Navami on April 10, Raut stated it was not a good sign. "Earlier, Ram Navami processions were all about culture and religion. But now swords are brandished and communal discord is created. Ruckus was created outside mosques resulting in violence," he alleged.

(With agency inputs)