Raj Thackeray seeks wider support to `end loudspeaker issue permanently`

Raj Thackeray on April 2 and later in Aurangabad, had said that loudspeakers atop mosques must be removed, failing which his party workers would play Hanuman Chalisa at high volume to drown out Azaan, PTI reported.

Loudspeaker row: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday told his party workers that he was looking at ending the issue of loudspeakers (atop mosques) permanently for which "wider support of people" would be needed. In a letter uploaded on his Twitter handle, Thackeray said loudspeakers had become a national issue after the MNS took it up. "We have to end the loudspeaker issue permanently. All you need to do is to ensure that my letter will reach to every household in the areas where you reside. We need wider support of people for our demand (of banning loudspeakers)," he said in the letter.

Thackeray, during his Gudi Padwa rally in Mumbai on April 2 and later in Aurangabad, had said that loudspeakers atop mosques must be removed, failing which his party workers would play Hanuman Chalisa at high volume to drown out Azaan.

The MNS has contended that its loudspeaker drive was more a social one than religious, adding that the use of loudspeakers at high volume was affecting the health of people, including Muslims.