Remain loyal to MNS, says Vasant More after meeting with Raj Thackeray

Thackeray had called More to Mumbai for the meeting to have his concerns addressed. More’s decision to stay with MNS is significant ahead of the impending Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) polls—he is the only MNS leader to have been elected to PMC for three consecutive times.

More was removed from the post of the party’s Pune unit chief after he refused to heed a call given by Thackeray to play the ‘Hanuman Chalisa’ in front of mosques. MNS leader and fellow PMC corporator Sainath Babar was appointed as the party’s new city unit chief.

Thackeray had earlier called on the Maharashtra government to remove loudspeakers from mosques, warning that if it failed to do so, MNS leaders would place loudspeakers in front of mosques and play ‘Hanuman Chalisa’. The move created a controversy, with many of its minority community leaders leaving the MNS in protest.

More had stated that members of Muslim community had voted for him in the PMC polls. He was reportedly made unsuccessful attempts to stop some Muslim leaders from quitting the party.

Pointing out that was a large Muslim population in the PMC electoral ward he represented and the Hadapsar segment from where he had contested the Assembly election, More had earlier said, “The Muslim community had always supported me and I would not disturb the peace of the area.”