Loudspeaker Row: Raj Thackeray again warns Maharashtra CM

Mumbai: Against the backdrop of the anti-loudspeakers agitation, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena president Raj Thackeray on Tuesday again warned his estranged cousin and Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, asking him "not to test our patience" as "power comes and goes".

In a letter to the CM, Raj Thackeray said that ever since the MNS launched the movement against illegal loudspeakers on mosques in the state, 28,000 MNS activists were served prohibitory notices, thousands have been externed and many have been dumped in jails, even before they actually started the drive.

"Why? To prevent them from taking down the illegal public address systems from the mosques that cause noise pollution, trouble people and (loudspeakers) to stop them from implementing the verdicts of the Supreme Court and various high courts in the country," Raj Thackeray demanded.

The MNS chief, who is under fire from Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party MP Brijbhushan Sharad Singh against his proposed Ayodhya trip on June 5 - said that the manner in which the police have gone after his men have raised questions in his mind.

"Has the state government or police ever shown similar zeal to nab terrorists or arms hidden in mosques in the state. They are hunting for (MNS spokesperson) Sandip Deshpande and others as if they are terrorists who have come from Pakistan," said Raj Thackeray.

He said that the people of the state and all Hindus are watching with their eyes open that who has given the orders to nab the MNS workers.

"I have only one thing to say: Don' test our patience. Power comes and goes, nobody is permanent. Not even you Uddhav Thackeray!" Raj Thackeray signed off.