'Yes, I was there when Babri mosque was razed, not Shiv Sena,' says Fadnavis

Former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday attacked the Shiv Sena and said Sena leaders are scared to even remove loudspeakers from the mosques but claimed that they brought down the Babri masjid. Fadnavis claimed he was there when the mosque was razed and no Maharashtra Sena leader was there at that time. "I am saying with pride that, yes, I was there to bring the structure down. This Devendra Fadnavis was there to bring the structure down. Not only this, this Devendra Fadnavis spent 18 days in the Badaun jail before that for doing kar seva for the Ram temple," Fadnavis said addressing BJP's rally in Mumbai.

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"They asked the other day where were we hiding when the Babri mosque was brought down…they got scared like hell when they were asked to remove loudspeakers from mosques and are now claiming that they brought down the Babri mosque," Fadnavis said.

"Tell me which leader from Maharashtra had gone to Ayodhya when the mosque was brought down? Had anyone gone? No Shiv Sena leader was present there," Fadnavis said.

Maharashtra is embroiled in back-to-back political controversies and the loudspeaker is the latest of them. The row has been triggered by Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray's demand that the state government has to take down all loudspeakers from mosques by May 3 failing which his party workers will play Hanuman Chalisa on those loudspeakers.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government has strongly resisted the loudspeaker demand while Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Sunday accused Devendra Fadnavis of attempts to make Mumbai a Union Territory -- in his editorial on party mouthpiece Saamana.

(With agency inputs)