Taking a hard line towards fractious voices within his party, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray on Thursday ‘removed’ Pune city president Vasant More from his post following the latter’s objections to Mr. Thackeray’s recent speech demanding the removal of loudspeakers from mosques and countering the Azaan with Hanuman Chalisa.
Mr. More, a long–time associate of Mr. Thackeray, was considered one of the important faces of the MNS in Pune district since the inception of the party in 2006.
Following a meeting of MNS leaders from Pune at his residence in Mumbai on Thursday, Mr. Thackeray announced that Mr. More would no longer continue as the Pune city chief of the MNS while appointing MNS corporator Sainath Babar in his stead.