Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has attacked MNS president Raj Thackeray over the latter's demand for the removal of loudspeakers from mosques, saying the state cannot afford the alleged divisive call given "to please someone eyeing polls".

Without naming Thackeray, Pawar asked what the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief was going to achieve by making such statements and whether "provoking" people will solve the issue of their livelihood. "The Maharashtra of Shahu, Phule, Ambedkar cannot afford the speeches made to please someone keeping eye on elections," Pawar said at an event in Shirdi in Ahmednagar district on Wednesday.