Maha minister Dilip Walse Patil halts speech for azaan | Watch

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil later said police would think about taking action against those who make statements to create a divide between different communities.

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil on Monday halted his speech midway for ‘azaan’ (Islamic call to prayer) during an event in Shirur, Pune. A video shared by news agency ANI showed he also stopped someone, who may have been standing below the stage, from going ahead with his or her activities as the azaan could be heard playing in somewhere afar.

File photo of Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse Patil. (PTI)

The senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader’s show of respect for the prayer call came amid a fresh row over loudspeakers being played outside mosques.

Patil later said police would think about taking action against those who make statements to create a divide between different communities. “Everyone has the right to follow and spread his/her religion. But today the kind of statements that are being made to create a divide between communities, police department officials will definitely think over the issue,” Patil was quoted as saying by PTI.

The issue was triggered by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) Raj Thackeray demanding that loudspeakers of mosques be shut down, failing which Hanuman Chalisa would be played outside places of worship for Muslims. "Why are loudspeakers in mosques played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume," he had said while addressing a Gudi Padwa rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.

Soon after, right wing outfits and leaders from the saffron camp extended their support to Thackeray’s cause with many questioning the need for mosques using loudspeakers.

Members of the Bajrang Dal and Sriram Sena warned of playing ‘bhajans’ (Hindu religious songs) at 5am as a protest against azaan from loudspeakers at mosques.

BJP MP Roopa Ganguly said a religion's campaign should not make others insane and that she did not understand why loudspeakers were used in the first place.

“I don't understand, did we have the concept of a loudspeaker during the inception of religion? What's the point of it? A religion's campaign shouldn't make others insane. This process of playing loudspeakers five-10 times a day should not continue,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

A minister in the BJP-led Karnataka KS Eshwarappa advised Muslim leaders to see to it that speakers were limited to their places of worship and did not disturb people living in surrounding areas. He added that any attempt by the MNS chief of or Sri Rama Sene against the use of loudspeakers at mosques should be “naturally done by taking the Muslim community into confidence”.

(With inputs from agencies)