India: Maharashtra's Governing Shiv Sena Accuses BJP of Stoking Hanuman Chalisa Row

A political slugfest in the Indian state of Maharashtra began after Raj Thackeray, chief of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena party, urged the government to remove loudspeakers from mosques, warning that otherwise his supporters would play “Hanuman Chalisa”, a prayer dedicated to Lord Hanuman, in temples. The BJP also backed Thackeray's demand.

Amid a political row over the recitation of "Hanuman Chalisa" - a prayer dedicated to Lord Hanuman - in India's Maharashtra, one of the governing parties in the state, Shiv Sena, on Monday alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is orchestrating the row in a desperate attempt to remove the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government from power.

The MVA government consists of Shiv Sena, Congress, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). It was formed after the 2019 Maharashtra state assembly elections.

In an editorial of its mouthpiece "Saamana", the party said: "The recent ruckus stirred up by the BJP in the name of Hindutva cannot be supported...the BJP is behind the controversy. They had planned to disturb the peace of Mumbai by using Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana and everything happened on their instructions that outraged the Shiv Sena workers and the couple was not allowed to step outside their house".

Navneet Rana is an independent parliamentarian from the Amravati constituency, and her husband Ravi Rana is an independent lawmaker from the Badnera constituency in the Amravati district.

Shiv Sena, which is also considered a pro-Hindu party, lashed out at the BJP over its way of looking at Hindutva, as it said that the ideology is actually a way of life (culture) and not chaos.

“Hindutva is doing fine in Maharashtra because it is being led by State Chief Uddhav Thackeray. There is no restriction on reciting Hanuman Chalisa in the state, but why there was an insistence to recite it outside 'Matoshree'?" the party said.

It also alleged that the Rana couple wanted to vitiate the environment in Mumbai, the capital city of Maharashtra.

Announcement by Rana Couple

Parliamentarian Navneet Rana and her husband Ravi Rana, a lawmaker, announced on Saturday that they would recite "Hanuman Chalisa" outside the private residence of state chief Uddhav Thackeray.

However, they dropped the plan as Shiv Sena workers protested outside their residence but the couple claimed that they dropped the plan in the view of the law and order situation ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mumbai.

Later, the couple was arrested by the Mumbai Police. They were booked under Section 153 (A) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 135 of the Mumbai Police Act (violation of prohibitory orders of police).

Charges of sedition under Section 124-A were also slapped on them.

On Sunday, the couple was sent into judicial custody for 14 days by the Holiday and Sunday Court of the Metropolitan Magistrate in Bandra.

On Monday, the couple moved Bombay High Court seeking cancellation of the case against them. The High Court did not give any relief to the couple and dismissed their plea aimed at quashing the police complaint.

Controversy Over 'Hanuman Chalisa'

On 2 April, MNS chief Raj Thackeray asked the state government to remove blaring loudspeakers from mosques by 3 May or else "Hanuman Chalisa" would be played on loudspeakers at Hindu temples.

Soon after that, BJP politician Mohit Kamboj offered to donate loudspeakers to Hindus and their temples to play "Hanuman Chalisa".

Meanwhile, Maharashtra's Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil said on 18 April that top officials of the state police and Mumbai police would prepare guidelines on the use of loudspeakers at religious places and that the guidelines would be issued soon.