Use speakers within mosques, loudspeakers outside disturb students, patients: Minister KS Eshwarappa
Karwar, Apr 4: Amid opposition by some right wing groups to the use loudspeakers at mosques, senior Karnataka Minister K S Eshwarappa on Monday said, any solution to the issue can be found by taking the Muslim community into confidence, keeping the interests of students and patients in mind.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray last week demanded that loudspeakers of mosques be shut down.
"If this is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at higher volume," he had said in Mumbai.
Stating that it is not a competition to play Hanuman Chalisa on loudspeakers to counter its use at mosques, and that it may lead to conflict between communities, Eshwarappa advised Muslim leaders to see to it that speakers are limited to their places of worship and don't disturb people living in surrounding areas.
"The attempts by Raj Thackeray or Sri Rama Sene against the use of loudspeakers at mosques, has to be naturally done by taking the Muslim community into confidence. There have been complaints for a long time that it disturbs students and patients during morning and evening hours," Eshwarappa said.
Speaking to reporters, he said the Muslim community have for long been following the tradition of using loudspeakers to call for prayer, but it is disturbing students, including their children and patients.
"This is not a competition for us to play Hanuman Chalisa loudly on speakers to counter them....I have no objections to you (Muslims) offering prayer, but because of you are using loudspeakers, if prayers are offered at temples and churches also in a similar way, it will lead to conflict between communities," he said, adding that in his opinion, it will be good if Muslim community leaders to think about it and use speakers within the mosques, in a way it doesn't disturb others.
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We will move court again to resist voter deletions: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.
Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
“You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise.
Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process.
The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent.
Criticising the poll panel over the SIR process, she also said, "We will fight legally to get the names included on the list as per the Constitution. If people cannot cast their votes, what is the need to frame the tribunal? And then you are saying that the list has been frozen. What is this? We will challenge it and try to understand it."
Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the TMC supremo accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and offering money to woo voters.
Banerjee also charged the Election Commission with intimidating people over the phone.
“It (EC) is working at the behest of the BJP. It is calling people over the telephone to threaten and intimidate them,” she claimed.
Later, while speaking at a rally in Balagarh in the same district, Banerjee warned that voting for the BJP would effectively mean "giving up fish, meat, and speaking in Bengali".
“People are not allowed to eat eggs, fish, or meat in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The same will happen here if the BJP comes to power," Banerjee claimed.
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