After courting controversy over the recital of Hanuman Chalisa in front of mosques, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena has announced maha aartis across the state on the Hindu festival Akshaya Tritiya which overlaps with Ramzan Eid on May 3. Two days ahead of it, party president Raj Thackeray will address a public rally in communally sensitive Aurangabad city.

On Tuesday, MNS leaders met Raj Thackeray to prepare for the events, including a proposed visit to Ayodhya on June 5. MNS has given an ultimatum to the state government for removing loudspeakers from mosques, failing which the party workers have threatened to use high decibel sound systems to recite the Hanuman Chalisa when Muslims read their prayers five times a day. Raj has refused to accept the agitation as a religious matter and instead called it a social issue caused by the people who consider religion above society.