New Delhi: Despite being booked by the state police for a provocative speech in Aurangabad, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray still seems to persist with his anti-loudspeaker campaign.
The MNS chief Wednesday shared an old video of the Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray in which he can be seen opposing the use of loudspeakers at religious places and Muslims offering namaz (prayers) on the streets, reported news agency ANI.
According to political analysts, Raj Thackeray is looking to revive his career and is therefore resorting to measures of hard Hindutva. Recently, he had posed in a trademark Bal Thackeray attire on social media.
In the video shared by MNS chief on his Twitter handle today, the Sena founder can clearly be heard saying that his party will stop people from offering namaz at roads once voted to power in the state.
"We (Shiv Sena) will not stop until we are successful in preventing the people from offering namaz on roads when we will form the government in Maharashtra," Bal Thackeray was heard saying in the video, as reported by ANI.
The controversy started after Raj Thackeray on April 12 threatened the Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra to remove loudspeakers from mosques by May 3, failing which he would play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques. Since then a verbal spat has ensued between the ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi government and Raj Thackeray.
Meanwhile, security has been beefed up outside the residence of MNS chief in Mumbai as a precautionary measure.