Rise of new 'Hindu Owaisi': Raut's veiled swipe at Raj Thackeray

In a veiled barb at Raj Thackeray who has taken an aggressive stand against loudspeakers on mosques, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Saturday termed the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief a "new Hindu Owaisi" and his party a "new Hindutva MIM".

Alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party's hand behind the demands for removing loudspeakers from mosques and reciting Hanuman Chalisa, Raut claimed that intelligence inputs suggest that a conspiracy is on to create communal tension in Maharashtra and recommend President's rule dismissing the MVA government.

In an ultimatum to the state government, Raj Thackeray recently said that loudspeakers on mosques should be removed by May 3 or else 'Hanuman Chalisa' will be played in a higher volume outside mosques.

Raising the pitch for Hindutva, Shiv Sena has organised the recitation of 'Hanuman Chalisa' in Dadar in Mumbai this evening on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, while the MNS chief is scheduled to perform a 'maha aarti' in Pune later in the day.

"The demand for removing loudspeakers on mosques and the reciting Hanuman Chalisa are parts of an effort to create a communal hatred to topple the MVA government by BJP in collaboration with the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena," Raut alleged.

He alleged that BJP is "frustrated" as its efforts to win over MLAs from MVA parties -- the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party, and the Congress -- have failed while the people have rejected the bid to create a communal discord.

"This is the reason the BJP is getting this work done by a 'nav-Hindutva AIMIM' and 'nav-Hindu Owaisi'. They have plans to distribute loudspeakers and recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques. They have given a contract for this work. They will recite Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques, then the real Owaisi (AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi) will come into the picture and everything will culminate into riots," he said.

"Later, they will send a report to the Centre through Raj Bhavan and try to impose President's rule in Maharashtra. We have intelligence and vigilance inputs of such plan and the Home Ministry is looking into it," Raut claimed.

Raut also announced Shiv Sena leader and minister Aaditya Thackeray's visit to Ayodhya, tentatively in the first or second week of May.

"Nashik Shiv Sena will organise this programme. The programme will be regarding the concept of 'Ram Rajya' by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray,” he said.

The Sena chief spokesperson also said the Sena won the byelection to the Vile Parle constituency in Mumbai in 1987 on the Hindutva slogan given by Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

"Some people are trying to make a corrupt copy of the Shiv Sena supremo. But it is useless. Whom do they teach Hindutva? Those who have taken Hindutva on rent should not teach us Hindutva. Those who boast of reciting the Hanuman Chalisa cannot say even the first two stanzas of it by heart. They cannot even recite the national anthem and Vande Mataram,” Raut said without taking names.

He said Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti have been celebrated for years peacefully.

"But this year, there were riots in ten states on Ram Navami (on April 10). Creating riots in poll-bound states and winning them this way is the strategy of BJP now,” Raut alleged.

Alleging a "pattern" of triggering communal riots and winning elections, the Sena MP said this will break the country into pieces.

Referring to the FIR registered in Mumbai against BJP leader Kirit Somaiya and his son in the alleged misappropriation of funds collected to save decommissioned aircraft carrier 'INS Vikrant', Raut alleged that some courts are becoming "relief courts".

“In 2022, it came to light that the money collected to save INS Vikrant did not reach where it was supposed to reach. Even the sessions court agreed to the fact that misappropriation of funds had taken place. Whether it was Rs 58 crore or Rs 158 crore, the investigation will reveal. However, the high court gave relief to Kirit Somaiya. The court is a 'relief court' for some people. The HC observed as wrong that the money was collected in 2013 and the case was registered only in 2022," Raut claimed.

The Bombay high court on Wednesday granted interim protection from arrest to Kirit Somaiya in the INS Vikrant funds case.

Raut also alleged a scam by "Yuva Pratishthan, an NGO of Kirit Somaiya and his wife, by submitting fake bills in the Mira-Bhayander Municipal Corporation.

The Sena MP claimed that an attempt was made to change the history of India since 2014- when the BJP came to power.

"It's an attempt to destroy all the good things which had been done in the last 60 years. The rulers of the country are working with a mindset that the history of the nation started only in 2014," he said and referred to the inauguration of the Pradhan Mantri Museum in New Delhi by PM Narendra Modi and the Congress's opposition to it.