Police reviews Raj Thackeray’s speech to check for violation of rally permit

The state home department swung into action on Monday and asked the police commissioner of Aurangabad to submit a report after reviewing Raj’s speech.

Mumbai: A day after Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray gave a provocative speech announcing that he will begin chanting ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ outside mosques from May 4, the state government said it was evaluating his speech to see if police action could be taken against him and the organisers of his rally for violation of conditions put by the local police while permitting the rally.

The Aurangabad Police Commissionerate has already started issuing notices to local MNS leaders for violation of the conditions under which the permission for the rally was given. (ANI)

The state home department swung into action on Monday and asked the police commissioner of Aurangabad to submit a report after reviewing Raj’s speech. A decision on the action is expected to be taken on Tuesday.

Home minister Dilip Walse-Patil on Monday said that Aurangabad commissioner Nikhil Gupta will review the speech to check if the conditions set by the police were violated during the rally. He will seek legal opinion and submit a report to the authorities, Walse-Patil said.

The minister further said that he has convened a meeting of senior home and police department officials on Tuesday after which the decision on the action against Thackeray would be taken.

If the need arises, the department will consult chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar on the issue, the home minister said.

The Aurangabad Police Commissionerate has already started issuing notices to local MNS leaders for violation of the conditions under which the permission for the rally was given.

Raj Thackeray addressed a rally in Aurangabad on Sunday and asked his party workers to play Hanuman Chalisa outside mosques on loudspeakers if the same were not removed by May 4.

“I do not want to incite the riots….but I would not be responsible for what happens after the deadline,” he said. The permission for the rally was given with 16 conditions, including restricting the crowd to 15,000 and mandating Raj to avoid using offensive slogans, and religious, casteist and regional references during the rally.

The police, prima facie, feel the conditions were breached during the rally, said home department officials, requesting anonymity.

Speaking to the media in Pune on Monday, Walse-Patil said that a few leaders were trying to create communal tension in the society using provocative language. “These are the deliberate attempts to polarise people in the state and the country in the name of religion with the help of some other parties. Whether to take action against Raj Thackeray for his speech will be decided after the Aurangabad police submits their report with the legal opinion. The government will take appropriate decisions. Police have been closely watching the situation. We are appealing to the people of Maharashtra to maintain peace and not pay heed to the provocative appeals,” he said.

Walse-Patil said that Raj Thackeray was not above the law and Supreme Court orders apply to him too. “Except between 10 pm and 6 am, the apex court has allowed the use of loudspeakers in the religious places. Thackeray cannot have his diktat over the court order. If somebody is targeting a specific community or say Muslim community, it affects not only that particular community but the entire society. It will have an impact on the aarti, kirtan, celebration during Ganpati and Navratri too. The decision over the permissions to the loudspeakers does not lie with any leader. The permission related rules are very clear and apply to all,” he said.

Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said that the state government runs as per the rules and laws laid down by the constitution and that dictatorship by anybody will not be tolerated. “We would not tolerate an ultimatum by anybody. Everybody will have to follow the set laws and rules,” he said.

According to the officials from the home department, the state government had decided to deal with the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ agitation very strictly and not allow any tension to evoke because of it.

The police has made permission mandatory for use of loudspeakers and is unlikely to allow the use of loudspeakers outside the mosques, as announced by the MNS chief. At the same time, the police have also been asked to take action against the illegal loudspeakers in mosques and ensure that the SC guidelines related to the noise levels are complied with.

After the rout of his party in successive elections since 2014, Raj Thackeray has recently adopted hardline Hindutva. He has raised the issue of loudspeakers used by mosques for azan or daily calls for prayer and demanded the same should be removed else his party workers will stage Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques as a protest. He has been supported by the BJP, which was the first party to demand the removal of loudspeakers.