MNS Pune city chief removed after he fails to endorse Raj Thackeray’s call for removal of mosque loudspeakers

Vasant More has been replaced with Sainath Babar as the new MNS city unit chief. More had said that he would not play 'Hanuman Chalisa' in front of mosques in his electoral ward

New chief of MNS Pune city unit Sainath Babar (Facebook @sainathbabaroffical)

The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) replaced Vasant More as the party’s Pune city unit chief with Sainath Babar Thursday after the former took a different stand to party chief Raj Thackeray’s demand for the removal of loudspeakers from mosques. The party made the announcement about the new appointment on social media with a photograph of Thackeray handing over the appointment letter to Babar.

महाराष्ट्र नवनिर्माण सेनेचे अध्यक्ष मा. श्री. राजसाहेब ठाकरे यांच्या आदेशाने आज नगरसेवक श्री. साईनाथ संभाजी बाबर यांची पक्षाच्या पुणे शहर अध्यक्षपदी नियुक्ती करण्यात आली आहे. नव्या जबाबदारीसाठी श्री. साईनाथ बाबर यांचे मनःपूर्वक अभिनंदन आणि भावी राजकीय वाटचालीसाठी शुभेच्छा! pic.twitter.com/Egqw962ZIx

— MNS Adhikrut – मनसे अधिकृत (@mnsadhikrut) April 7, 2022

Last Saturday, Thackeray made a strong pitch for removing high-decibel loudspeakers from mosques. Addressing a rally at Shivaji Park, he also said that if such a step was not taken, loudspeakers would be installed outside mosques to play ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ at a higher volume.

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The statement created controversy within the party and More, who was last year appointed as city unit chief of the party, publicly defied Thackery’s stand. “I will not play ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ in front of mosques in my electoral ward. Many from the Muslim community vote for me,” More said, leading to differences within the city unit of the party. MNS general secretary Ajay Shinde hit out at More saying that the orders of Thackeray are final and no one else in the party can have a different stand over them.

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More was elected to the Pune Municipal Corporation in 2017 from the Katraj area which has a sizable Muslim population. After Thackeray’s comments, he was at pains to pacify the Muslim members of the MNS who wanted to quit the party.

Thackeray was informed of the stand taken by More on the issue. He summoned senior party leaders Anil Shidore, Rajendra Wagaskar and Babar to his home in Mumbai and declared Babas as the new unit chief in Pune. More welcomed the decision and assured Babar of full cooperation.

A few months ago, firebrand leader and former corporator Rupali Patil Thombre quit the MNS and joined the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) after levelling charges of deliberately cornering her in party affairs.

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