Manoj Jarange-Patil stoked a major political controversy in Maharashtra with a sensational charge that Eknath Shinde received Rs 500 crore from the BJP to end the Maratha reservation agitation.The allegations stunned bot…

Manoj Jarange-Patil stoked a major political controversy in Maharashtra with a sensational charge that Eknath Shinde received Rs 500 crore from the BJP to end the Maratha reservation agitation.The allegations stunned both the BJP and the Shiv Sena.Jarange-Patil has sought a clarification from Shinde, the Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, who is an ally of the BJP-led Maha Yuti dispensation.Shinde was the Chief Minister from June 2022 to December 2024, after which BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took over the top job for the third time following the Vidhan Sabha elections.“Whatever I heard apparently happened two and a half years ago. I have come to know from some leaders that told the BJP leadership that they should pay Rs 500 crore to Manoj Jarange-Patil to silence him,” Jarange-Patil said, addressing a massive Dussehra rally at Narayangad, a prominent religious site associated with the Maratha community in Marathwada’s Beed district.Shinde, while addressing the Dussehra rally at Nesco Complex in Goregaon, Mumbai, stayed away from commenting on the allegations.However, Shiv Sena leaders Ramdas Kadam, a former Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and his son Yogesh Kadam, Minister of State for Home, suspected political motives behind Jarange-Patil’s statement.“Jarange-Patil is trying to malign the image of Shinde, who has the backing of 65 MLAs and 17 Lok Sabha MPs. Kadam said that if Jarange-Patil has got the proof, he should present it to the people,” said Ramdas Kadam.Maratha quota row: Manoj Jarange-Patil ends hunger strike, gives a three-month breather to Maharashtra government “I do not wish to comment on whose blessings he is acting under, for whom he is working, or who is behind him. However, it would not be wrong to say that Jarange-Patil is now more focused on serving his own political interests than on working for the Maratha community or protecting its interests,” said Yogesh Kadam.According to him, the decisions related to the Maratha community taken during the respective tenures of Shinde and Fadnavis as Chief Ministers were historic. “We sense a political motive behind each of his statements…If Jarange Dada can just tell us how many zeros are there in 500 crore, then it will be more interesting to discuss this further,” he added.Uday Samant speaks to Jarange-PatilShiv Sena leader and state Industries Minister Uday Samant spoke about his discussions with Jarange-Patil regarding the allegations.“There seems to be some confusion because last night, Jarange-Patil told me that he had a video of some BJP members allegedly claiming that Uday Samant and Shambhuraj Desai had taken money from Shinde and sided with the BJP. I told him that nothing of the sort had happened and asked him to send me the video so that I could hold a press conference today itself and bring the truth to light. However, at today’s rally, he alleged that Shinde had taken Rs 500 crore from the BJP and demanded that Shinde clarify the matter,” he said.

Source: Deccan Herald