Raj Thackeray gets nod to hold rally in Aurangabad, AIMIM invites him for iftar

Following the conditional permission to hold a public rally in communally sensitive Aurangabad on May 1 Maharashtra Navnirman Sena MNS president Raj Thackeray has been invited to an iftar party by the local MP of All India MajliseIttehadul Muslimeen AIMIM Imtiaz JalilRajrsquos rally is part of his campaign for removal of loudspeakers from mosques by May 3 failing which the MNS has threatened to air the recital of Hanuman Chalisa using highdecibel loudspeakers when Muslims pray five times a day The threat has caused political turmoil in the state with secular parties taking up soft Hindutva and hardliners showing off their aggressionJalilrsquos googlyJalilrsquos googly came after the local police told the MNS to not violate 16 conditions including a cap of 15000 on the audience during the rally to be held at Marathwada Sanskritik Mandal Maidan The party has however said it was humanly impossible to follow all restrictionsldquoI invite Raj Thackeray to the iftaar on Sunday evening before he goes to the rally It will send out a good message to both Hindus and Muslims Only one per cent people are troublemakers and the rest are peacelovingrdquo he said after meeting the Aurangabad police chiefJalil is the partyrsquos only Lok Sabha MP from Maharashtra He won the 2019 elections beating Shiv Senarsquos longtime sitting parliamentarian He said as an MP he was responsible for maintaining peace in the city where traders small businesses retailers and others who have just started earning after the pandemic were concerned about the aftermath of Thackerayrsquos rallyldquoWe have assured the CP of all cooperation I appeal to the people to not fall for anything instigating People also understand communal politics and its repercussions that affect the common manrdquo said JalilJalil said the home minister has made the statersquos stand on loudspeakers very clear ldquoThe Supreme Courtrsquos directives should be implemented but not by force The issue raised by some parties isnrsquot about Hindus and Muslims itrsquos about the parties that are competing to prove their Hindutva And for doing that they need a soft target like Muslims for punchingrdquo he saidOn May 1 which is celebrated as Maharashtrarsquos Foundation Day the MNS president is also expected to revive the sons of the soil agenda The police permission was delayed amid opposition from some political outfits and social organisations but it came on Friday with conditions A plea seeking stay was dismissed by the Aurangabad bench of Bombay High Court on Friday afternoon Soon after the courtrsquos order Maharashtrarsquos Bhim Army unit threatened to disrupt the rally Cant stop audience MNSCalling the condition of capping the audience impractical MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar said that the party cannot stop people from attending the rally But he appealed to party workers to cooperate with the police and said the party did not want any conflict with the people who opposed the rallyldquoI donrsquot know the reason for their opposition We want to go with everyone We celebrated Shiv Jayanti and Ambedkar Jayanti and even now we have come together to celebrate this occasion We donrsquot fight our own people The police will take care of everythingrdquo he saidChief leaves via PuneAccompanied by a caravan Raj Thackeray left for Aurangabad on Friday afternoon amid much fanfare He will participate in a grand religious event in Pune on Saturday before leaving for the central Maharashtra headquarters On his way he will visit Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharajrsquos grave