Amid the ongoing clash between Hanuman Chalisa and Azaan in Maharastra, a BJP leader has offered to bankroll loudspeakers to play Hindu prayer song Hanuman Chalisa in public places fanning a campaign against the Islamic call to prayer (Azaan) championed by right-wing political leaders.
The offer came into the limelight as the BJP and Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) pressed a call while addressing the Gudhi Padwa rally to ban loudspeakers playing the Azaan from mosques and if not done, Hanuman Chalisa will be played at double volume near the mosques.
"Why loudspeakers in mosques are played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume," MNS chief Raj Thackeray said.
Due to this, MNS leaders in several parts of Maharashtra stepped up to play the prayer song and raised the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan in front of the party office in Kalyan town of Maharashtra's Thane district on Sunday.
Mohit Kamboj, a billionaire bullion trader and richest among BJP leaders tweeted, "Anyone who needs a loudspeaker to install it in a temple can ask us for free! All Hindus should have one voice! Jai Shri Ram! Har Har Mahadev!".
The ongoing controversy might assist the MNS and the BJP corner the Shiv Sena, which runs Maharashtra in coalition with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress, just ahead of elections for BMC.
Raj Thackeray's call to lower the volumes of loudspeakers at mosques was criticized by several members including Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, NCP chief Pawar, Supriya Sule, Congress' Nana Patole, Ashok Chavan, Atul Londhe, ex-Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar.
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