Mumbai: Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange Patil has alleged that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde received ₹500 crore from the BJP to end the Maratha reservation agitation, a charge that has revived a bitter political row in the state.
Jarange Patil told reporters that senior BJP leaders had themselves told him about the alleged payment, which he said was routed through Shinde's son, Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde. "I was told that Mr Shinde has taken ₹500 crore from the BJP... to end the Maratha protest and silence Jarange Patil. But I wish to clarify that I have neither taken money nor will I," he said.
The activist, who led several marches demanding Kunbi certificates and reservation for the Maratha community, said the community would decide its next course after consulting its supporters. He has repeatedly accused the ruling alliance of using money and pressure to break the movement.
Shinde shares the deputy chief ministership in the BJP-led state government and heads the Shiv Sena faction that is a partner in the ruling alliance. The reports available did not carry a direct response from him to the allegation; his supporters have dismissed such claims in the past.
The claim could not be independently verified. Jarange Patil said that if it were true, the alleged payment would amount to a betrayal of the Maratha community, and that he would keep pressing the demand for reservation. The row surfaced as the state's rival Shiv Sena factions traded charges at their Dussehra rallies.