‘Don’t want social tension during Eid’: Raj Thackeray cancels ‘Maha Aarti’

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Monday appealed to his party workers to not perform ‘Maha Aarti’ that was scheduled for Tuesday (May 3).Taking to official Twitter handle on Monday, Raj Thackeray asked his supporters to not go ahead with the event on May 3 so that no social tension is created during the Eid festival. This comes a day after Thackeray reiterated the May 4 deadline for removal of loudspeakers atop the mosques in Maharashtra.

MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar had announced the ‘Maha Aarti’ last month and said his party would take appropriate permission from the police for holding ‘Maha Aarti’ as per existing provisions and also under new guidelines, if any. Reiterating his stand on loudspeakers on Sunday, the MNS chief Sunday said the state government should remove the equipment from outside mosques failing which “Hanuman Chalisa will be played at a louder volume (than azaan) in front of the mosques”. Addressing a jam-packed rally at Marathwada Samajik Mandal ground in Aurangabad, Raj Thackeray exhorted his supporters not to “worry about anything” and help in getting the loudspeakers off the mosques. He also announced that more rallies will he held on the issue in Marathwada and Vidarbha soon.