Hanuman Chalisa row: Sena workers protest outside MP Navneet Rana's Khar residence

Early this morning, senior police officers, including zonal DCP Manjunath Singe, visited the place and took stock of security deployment. Pic/Shadab Khan

Shiv Sena workers on Saturday protested outside the residence of Amravati MP Navneet Rana and MLA Ravi Rana who had announced their plan to chant "Hanuman Chalisa" outside Matoshree, the private residence of Chief Minster Uddhav Thackeray.

The party workers also gathered outside the Matoshree to stop the MP-MLA couple from going ahead with their plan. Meanwhile, security has been heightened near the CM's residence to prevent any law and order situation."We are waiting, we'll keep Hanuman Chalisa in front of us. We're waiting to teach them a lesson," said Shiv Sena leader Kishori Pednekar outside 'Matoshree' in Mumbai.

Earlier on Friday, Mumbai police served notice under section 149 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that allows the police to take steps to prevent cognizable offences.

Earlier Ravi Rana had said, "I requested Uddhav Thackeray to recite Hanuman Chalisa on Hanuman Jayanti. CM doesn't come to the Vidharbha region. He hasn't come to Mantralaya for two years. With all these problems in Maharashtra, I asked him to recite Hanuman Chalisa. Uddhav Thackeray has forgotten Hindutva."

"We will go to Matoshree at 9 am on Saturday," he added.

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray had stoked controversy earlier by asking the state government to remove loudspeakers from mosques while warning that if the demand isn't met, his party members will put loudspeakers to play "Hanuman Chalisa".

"Loudspeakers in mosques should be shut by May 3. Otherwise, we will play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers. This is a social issue, not a religious one. I want to tell the state government, we will not go back on the issue," the MNS chief had stated.

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