Uddhav Thackeray, the man leading the Maha Vikas Aghadi government has adopted a secular approach since the day he got the chair. After aligning with Congress and the NCP, Thackeray changed his politics which must have irked the ones aware of the principles of Balasaheb Thackeray. After the ruckus over the Hanuman Chalisa row, finally, Uddhav Thackeray has said something which we can agree with.
Maharashtra’s all party meeting and its output
Uddhav Thackeray, the CM of Maharashtra has played some smart politics by transferring the onus to frame regulations regarding the use of loudspeakers to the Central government. As per Thackeray, very soon a delegation from the state is all to meet the Central government regarding the issue.
Read More: Why is Uddhav Thackeray so afraid of Pawanputra Hanuman?
Thackeray on Monday called an all-party meeting to find a solution to the ongoing loudspeaker row. However, the opposition of the state of Maharashtra, the BJP boycotted the meeting. Even MNS leader Raj Thackeray wasn’t present there, though he had sent his representatives.
After the meeting, CM Uddhav Thackeray put the onus of resolving the loudspeaker issue on the PM Modi led central government. After the meeting, Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil urged the centre to arrive at a policy on the use of loudspeakers that the states could follow.
Uddhav Thackeray passes the onus to the centre
Dilip Walse elaborated on the issue, “If the Centre makes a national-level rule over loudspeakers, issues won’t come up in states.” He added, “It is the government’s responsibility to maintain law & order. Police will take action if somebody violates the law.”
This is not the first time that Thackeray has approached the centre to resolve an issue from the state. From the first day of its alliance with Congress and the NCP, Shiv Sena leaders have pointed the Modi government every time the issue of loudspeakers at Masjids has usurped. Even Sena’s allies have also toed the same line.
Read More: Raj Thackeray is 10 years late to claim BalaSaheb’s legacy but glad he’s woken up
Why India should agree with Uddhav Thackeray?
Uddhav Thackeray is guilty of many things from abandoning Balasaheb’s legacy to misusing the state entities for vendetta politics. But for once India needs to agree with Uddhav Thackeray when he asks the centre to form laws regarding the use of loudspeakers that should be followed pan-India by all states.
The loudspeaker issue is not a new one, these controversies have usurped in the past as well. Several courts of India including the Supreme Court have laid guidelines regarding the use of loudspeakers. The Supreme Court of India in 2005 banned the use of loudspeakers from 10 pm to 6 am in public places. SC had based its decision on the harmful effects of noise pollution on health.
In August 2016, the Bombay High Court pronounced a historic verdict, as it said “the use of loudspeaker was not a fundamental right.” The court observed that none of the religious sects could claim that the right to use a loudspeaker is a fundamental right conferred by Art. 25 of the Indian Constitution.
The aforementioned observations are enough to establish that India needs an immediate legislation on the use of loudspeakers or public address systems and while using the decibel limit should also be prescribed to abide by the court’s observation of decibel limit.
A legislation based on aforementioned arguments is the need of the hour. And all the religions and all the religious places should and must follow noise pollution rules. Be it the use of loudspeakers in mosques or any other religious place, the same legislation must be enforced pan-India and the Central government led by PM Narendra Modi must give attention to this pending issue.
