Party leaders in India have called for a ban on the call to prayer.
REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, MUMBAI – Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers played Hanuman Chalisa chants on loudspeakers near a mosque in Charkop area of Mumbai on Wednesday (5/5) morning local time . It comes, a day after their party leader Raj Thackeray called for religious hymns to be played in protest against loudspeakers calling for prayers.
In one video, an MNS employee, holding a party flag, is seen playing Hanuman Chalisa on a loudspeaker from a Mumbai skyscraper. In the background, the call to prayer can be heard over the loudspeakers of a nearby mosque, as reported first post, Thursday (5/5/2022).
In nearby Thane, several MNS activists also played Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers at a venue in the Indira Nagar area. Although there is no mosque located nearby.
Despite the case against him, MNS Chairman Raj Thackeray on Tuesday urged people to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers on Wednesday wherever they hear the call to prayer.
Indeed, in an open letter, Thackeray asks the public to lodge a complaint with the police by dialing 100 if they are disturbed by the sound of the call to prayer.
“I appeal to all Hindus that tomorrow, May 4th, if you hear loudspeakers sounding the call to prayer in these places, play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers. That is when they will realize the obstruction of these loudspeakers,” said the head of the MNS.
Police have tightened security in Mumbai and other parts of the state, especially where MNS has a large presence.
