Amid the raging Hanuman Chalisa row, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday issued a stern warning saying, “we know how to counter dadagiri”, adding that he “will take care of the fake Hindus and hold a rally very soon” to end the controversy. “It’s being said that we’ve ignored Hindutva. Is Hindutva a dhoti or what? Our Hindutva is ‘Gada Dhari’ like Lord Hanuman’s Gada. If you want to recite Hanuman Chalisa, call and come home. But if you resort to dadagiri, we know how to crumble it,” Thackeray said.

It’s being said that we’ve ignored Hindutva. Is Hindutva a dhoti or what? Our Hindutva is ‘Gada Dhari’ like Lord Hanuman’s Gada. If you want to recite Hanuman Chalisa, call and come home. But if you resort to ‘Dadagiri’ we know how to crumble it: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray pic.twitter.com/rgx3Jsh20p

— ANI (@ANI) April 25, 2022

The row began last Saturday after independent MP Navneet Rana and her MLA husband Ravi Rana were arrested the same day after they gave a call for the chanting of Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s private residence ‘Matoshree’ in Mumbai, which had triggered angry protests by Shiv Sainiks.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also reacted to the row, saying that “if you wish to recite Hanuman Chalisa then chant it at your home”. “Don’t you have your homes?… Many people are trying to spoil the atmosphere,” he said.

Earlier in the day, former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis slammed the Uddhav Thackeray government as the “most intolerant in the history of Maharashtra”.

The controversy

The stand-off took place after Ranas announced to reach ‘Matoshree’, and recite Hanuman Chalisa outside Thackeray’s residence. Enraged over their dare, Shiv Sainiks blocked the couple’s Khar residence from Saturday morning and shouted slogans against them throughout the day. Hundreds of Shiv Sena workers pushed aside barricades and entered the premises of Ranas’ building despite heavy police deployment.

The couple later announced that they’ve withdrawn their plan to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside ‘Matoshree’, “in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Mumbai“. While the Ranas were arrested on charges of promoting enmity between different groups, they in turn demanded an FIR be registered against CM Uddhav Thackeray and senior Sena leaders. Following the complaint, the Mumbai police filed an FIR against unknown people, leading to the arrest of 16 Shiv Sainiks for gathering outside Ranas’ home and threatening them.

The Mumbai Police later slapped a sedition charge on the politician couple. On Sunday, a Mumbai court remanded the Rana couple in 14-day judicial custody. The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed the writ petition filed by the couple, seeking quashing of an FIR registered against them.

(With PTI inputs)

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