“I am with the MNS since its inception, but I resigned from the party on Tuesday over the statement made by Raj Thackeray about countering ‘azaan’ (call for Muslim prayer) from loudspeakers atop mosques with ‘Hanuman Chalisa‘,” said Punjabi.
He said he cannot face people if he continues to remain in MNS.
“Many people from the Muslim community live in my area with whom I enjoy cordial relations,” Punjabi said, adding that Raj Thackeray’s statements on loudspeakers and madrasas (seminaries) are incorrect.
On Monday, Majeed Shaikh, a shakha president of MNS in Pune, resigned against “communalism” in the MNS.
Addressing a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Saturday, Raj Thackeray had said,” Why loudspeakers in mosques are played at such high volume? If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume”.