Wading into the Hanuman Chalisa controversy, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, on Monday, refuted allegations that the Shiv Sena has been ignoring Hindutva.
"It is being said that we have ignored Hindutva. Is Hindutva a dhoti or what," he asked and said Sena's "Hindutva is 'Gada Dhari' like Lord Hanuman's gada."
Referring to the incident of Independent MP Navneet Rana and her husband, MLA Ravi Rana issuing a call for chanting of Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray's private residence 'Matoshree' in Mumbai, the CM said, "If you want to recite Hanuman Chalisa, call and come home. But if you resort to 'dadagiri' we know how to crush it."
"Recite Hanuman Chalisa if you want, but there is also Maruti Stotra, Bhima Rudra Maharudra. Shiv Sena will show what is Bhimroop and Maha Rudra," he said.
He alleged that many are jealous because of the developments taking place in Mumbai and claimed that such people want speak on loudspeakers. "I don’t care about them at all."
The CM's cousin Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray has been demanding that loudspeakers atop mosques be removed. The MNS chief had, during his Gudi Padwa rally in Mumbai on April 2, demanded that loudspeakers relaying azaan from mosques be removed by May 3 and had threatened to drown out the call of prayer by playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume.
