Jarange’s ₹500 crore claim against Shinde draws Sena, BJP rebuttal

Manoj Jarange Patil, who leads the campaign for Maratha reservation, has started a fresh political row in Maharashtra. At his Dussehra rally at Narayangad in Beed district, he alleged that the BJP had paid ₹500 crore to Eknath Shinde, the Deputy Chief Minister, in the activist’s name. He also set out a list of relief demands for farmers hit by drought.

Leaders of Shinde’s Shiv Sena and the BJP have dismissed the money claim. Jarange has not made public any evidence for it.

The ₹500 crore claim

According to PTI, Jarange told the gathering that a BJP leader had informed him that the BJP paid Shinde ₹500 crore, routing it through his son, Kalyan MP Shrikant Shinde. Marathi news site Sarkarnama reported that Jarange put the question to Shinde directly from the stage and asked for a clarification by the next evening.

Daijiworld framed the speech a little differently. It said Jarange argued that stories tying him to ₹500 crore had been spread to damage his reputation, and that he wanted an inquiry to find out who was behind them. The same report quoted him as saying, “If I had received the money, I would have distributed it among people affected by drought.”

Reactions from Sena and BJP

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Lakhe Patil said on Tuesday that he would sue Jarange for defamation and seek damages of Re 1 unless the activist named the BJP leader he cited by Wednesday evening, PTI reported. In a video statement, Lakhe Patil alleged that Jarange was acting “at the behest of someone within the BJP”. He also accused him of undermining the sanctity of the Narayangad shrine by making such allegations there.

BJP minister Girish Mahajan called the allegations entirely baseless, Sarkarnama reported. He said he knew nothing of the matter, that only Shinde could speak to it, and that Jarange should produce evidence if he had any. In the reports reviewed for this article, Shinde had not responded personally.

Drought relief and quota deadline

Deccan Herald reported that Jarange also wanted drought-hit farmers to get ₹1 lakh for every hectare of ruined crops, along with a full waiver of farm loans. He also sought the release of crop insurance money and pending subsidies, and fodder camps in every village.

He repeated the community’s reservation demand and urged Marathas to defeat leaders opposed to the quota in the 2029 elections. He said the state government had asked for three months and that two of those months were left. “Be prepared to go to Mumbai after one call,” he told supporters, while adding that the drought would be taken into account.

Daijiworld reported that he accused the government of not giving enough attention, at a recent cabinet sub-committee meeting, to the demand that Marathas and Kunbis be treated as one community for reservation. He warned that turning the demand down could affect the issue of Kunbi certificates.

The Daily Rostrum will update this report if Shinde responds or if Jarange names the leader he referred to.

Sources: PTI (via ThePrint), Deccan Herald, Daijiworld, Sarkarnama