Sri Rama Sene threatens to play Suprabhatham in front of mosques in Udupi

Mangaluru: The temple town of Udupi had been in headlines for all wrong reasons ever since it gave birth to the national debate on the hijab, but on Friday the extreme right-wing organisation, Sri Ram Sene looked like it is all set to give yet another emotive issue for a possible flare-up.

"We are pained at the irresponsible way that the BJP government is functioning in the State. Despite the clear directions of the Supreme Court to ban loudspeakers used for reading Azaan in mosques, the State government is not willing to act. To show how disturbing Azaan playing through loudspeakers could be for others we have decided to play Suprabhatham in full volume exactly at the time of Azaan in the morning. We are positioning our loudspeakers in front of every mosque in Udupi and have appointed operators of electronic devices that can match or even do better in decibel levels of the mosque loudspeakers," Pramod Muthalik, leader of Sri Rama Sene, said on Friday. However, to bring some reason to the issue we have given the district administration three days - from 6 May to 9 May -- to start implementing the Supreme Court orders, he added.

"Why Suprabhat, why not any other with a shorter duration when asked," Muthalik said, "For a very long time almost all Hindu households listen Venkateshwara Suprabhatam. We are now using it on the public platform, just like the Azaan is being promoted by the government. You may ascribe motives to our move but since Azaan has been allowed the government must also allow the playing of Suprabhatam."

The Sri Rama Sene will file an appeal in the district court in Udupi against the government for not carrying out the SC order. "We cannot be mute spectators to pleasing one community forever by successive governments and let this be a roadmap for the governments to follow," the Sri Ram Sene leader said in a memorandum given to the district authorities on Friday.