Police detained Sri Rama Sene activists in numerous locations at 5 a.m. on Monday, a day after Sri Rama Sene chairman Pramod Muthalik called for playing the Hanuman Chalisa and other devotional hymns early in the morning to “counter” the azaan.
The incidences were reported in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Belgaum, Dharwad, and Kalaburagi, according to the police.
#WATCH | Karnataka: Sri Ram Sena workers, led by the organisation's chief Pramod Muthalik, sang Bhajans at 4.55 am this morning at Hanuman Temple in Mysuru.
Earlier, Sri Ram Sena had announced that they will play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers. pic.twitter.com/dAr6RI69JC
— ANI (@ANI) May 9, 2022
Muthalik performed the Hanuman Chalisa and other religious hymns in a temple in Mysuru. “It is not a symbolic protest or just for a day. This will continue till the government initiates action against loudspeakers installed at mosques,” he said.
“We have launched the campaign against the state government and members of the Muslim community who are not following the Supreme Court order. In future, we will file a contempt case against all deputy commissioners for failing to implement the Supreme Court’s order,” Muthalik informed reporters.
Muthalik had encouraged Sene activists to play Hanuman Chalisa and Suprabhata hymn from loudspeakers across temples in Karnataka from Monday if the BJP-led state government failed to act against loudspeakers installed in mosques, following a similar call by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray.
Several right-wing organisations, according to Muthalik, have backed Sri Rama Sene. According to him, the organisation has already contacted over 1,000 temples throughout the state.
