Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that this is an attempt to revive a "dead party".
Four Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers have been detained by the Mumbai police after they played the 'Hanuman Chalisa' (prayers for Hindu deity Hanuman) in front of the Shiv Sena headquarters in the Dadar area of the city. The workers had mounted a loudspeaker on the roof of a cab which also had a placard with pictures of Hindu god Lord Ram and the MNS chief Raj Thackeray, with "Shree Ram Rath" (chariot of Lord Ram) written on it.
The police reached the spot and shut down the prayer hymn, they also seized the vehicle and the loudspeaker. The Shivaji Park police are questioning four men in the matter.
Reacting to the provocation, Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray said that this is an attempt to revive a "dead party".
"They're trying to revive their dead party. Our Hindutva is known to everyone. We will fulfil what we have promised (during elections) to the people," he told news agency ANI.
On April 2, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had demanded that loudspeakers at mosques be shut down and said if this is not stopped, "there will be speakers outside mosques playing 'Hanuman Chalisa' at higher volume". Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar had slammed the MNS chief saying the state cannot afford the alleged divisive call given "to please someone eyeing polls".
Raj Thackeray had also criticised NCP chief Sharad Pawar, whose party shares power with the Shiv Sena and Congress in Maharashtra, accusing him of "playing the caste card from time to time and dividing society". He had taken potshots at Maharashtra Chief Minister and his estranged cousin Uddhav Thackeray as well.
The BJP had backed the MNS in its demand. A BJP leader on April 5 offered to bankroll loudspeakers to play the Hanuman Chalisa in public places, fanning a fractious campaign against the Azaan - the Islamic call to prayer - championed by right-wing political leaders.
Timed just ahead of the elections for India's richest municipal body - the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation or BMC - the controversy could help the MNS and the BJP corner the Shiv Sena which rules Maharashtra in alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress.
On Sunday morning, after being alerted about MNS members playing the religious hymn on a loudspeaker outside the Sena Bhavan, police reached the spot and detained MNS functionary Yashwant Killedar and three other workers of the outfit, the official from Shivaji Park police station told news agency PTI.
Following their detention, a number of MNS workers gathered in a small temple located near the police station premises and started singing the 'Hanuman Chalisa' and other religious songs.
"We have detained four MNS workers for playing a loudspeaker in front of the Sena Bhavan. We are conducting further investigation into the matter," the police official said.
Last Sunday, some MNS workers played the 'Hanuman Chalisa' in front of the party office in Kalyan town of neighbouring Thane district.