Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut hit out at Raj Thackeray for demanding that loudspeakers on mosques shut down, saying the MNS chief's speech was "scripted and sponsored" by BJP.

Speaking at a rally at Shivaji Park in Mumbai on Saturday, Raj Thackeray demanded that if the playing of loudspeakers in mosques at high volume is not stopped, there will be speakers outside mosques playing Hanuman Chalisa at a higher volume. "It is clear that the (speech of) the loudspeaker blaring at the Shivaji Park yesterday was scripted and sponsored by BJP," Raut told reporters here in an apparent reference to the MNS chief.