Vasant More (Twitter/@vasantmore88) Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader and corporator Vasant More, who recently said he will not play Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques — going against a call to do so by party chief Raj Thackeray — was removed from the post of Pune unit chief on Thursday. MNS leader and fellow PMC corporator Sainath Babar has been appointed the new city unit chief.
Last week, Thackeray had 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 statement led to the resignation of several Muslim leaders of the MNS. Party leader More, who was appointed the city unit chief of MNS last year, publicly declared that he would not heed the call made by Thackeray. “I will not play Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques in my electoral ward. Many members of the Muslim community vote for me,” More had said.
Party general secretary Ajay Shinde had hit out at More, saying orders of the MNS chief were final and no one else in the party could have a different stand over it.
More and Babar are the only two MNS leaders who were elected to the PMC in the 2017 civic polls. More won from Katraj, an area with a sizable Muslim population.
After Thackeray was informed of the stand taken by More, he summoned senior party leaders Anil Shidore, Rajendra Wagaskar and Babar to his residence in Mumbai. Thackeray then announced that Babar will be the new city unit chief of MNS.
More has welcomed the decision and assured full cooperation.
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