An Unholy Controversy

0ne cannot say to what degree he is behind the weaponisation of one of Hinduism's plainest practices-the recitation of the Hanuman Chalisa-but Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's thunder was stolen, and how!

- Kiran D. Tare

After Thackeray on April 12 warned of reciting the Chalisa in front of mosques to stop loudspeakers from being used for azaan and other announcements, independent MLA Ravi Rana announced on April 17 that he would recite it outside the residence of Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. It was not taken seriously.

Rana, who represents Badnera in Amravati district, reached Mumbai on April 22 along with their wife Navneet, the Lok Sabha MP from Amravati. Although the duo announced they had given up their plan, angry Shiv Sena workers gathered outside their Mumbai home the next day and filed a complaint against them for 'inciting violence. Acting swiftly, the Mumbai Police arrested the couple the same night for "promoting enmity between different religions" and sedition.

Rana had claimed that his plans were meant to goad Uddhav into reciting the Chalisa. "I want the CM to recite it, seeking the deity’s blessings…. He is not doing it. That is why I want to take responsibility,” he had told India Today in a brief interview.