Revoke ban of 'bhajans' in local trains or else: Shiv Sena

Shiv Sena will organise an agitation if the railway administration does not revoke its ban on bhajan mandalis (hymn-singing groups) whose members sing in trains, a Sena affiliate organisation said here today.

"Sena would launch an intense agitation if the ban is not revoked," Sthaniya Lokadhikar Samiti leader Gajanan Kirtikar said, after meeting senior Railway officials here.

An organisation of 250 bhajan mandals in Mumbai recently met Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and requested him to help revoke the ban.

"The practice of singing bhajans in suburban trains began almost 40 years ago, as a means of remembering god amid the hectic life in the city," he said.

The mandali members do not create any nuisance in trains, Kirtikar said. On the other hand, nuisance is caused by pickpockets, beggars, eunuchs, those hanging onto the doors and those listening obscene songs on their mobile handsets, he added.

The railway police have imposed a ban on the singing of bhajans in Mumbai's local trains and notices were issued to bhajan mandalis asking them to discontinue their practice.

Those flouting the ban face being booked for "creating nuisance in a public place" and slapped with a fine of Rs500.

Earlier, railway police had shot down a proposal to allow qawwalis in suburban locals.