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Maharashtra BJP transferred ₹500 crore to topple Rajasthan government: Congress
State Congress alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Maharashtra unit transferred ₹500 crore through hawala for horse trading in Rajasthan to topple
State Congress alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Maharashtra unit transferred ₹500 crore through hawala for horse trading in Rajasthan to topple the Ashok Gehlot government. While the Maharashtra BJP rubbished the allegations, the Congress requested state home minister Anil Deshmukh to get the alleged hawala transfer probed by the police.
Maharashtra Congress general secretary and spokesperson Sachin Sawant said that the party received specific information on the transfer of the funds.
“There are leaked tapes of conversation between a BJP leader and the suspended Rajasthan MLAs [Members of Legislative Assembly] over the exchange of money to topple the Gehlot government. This proves that a huge amount was amassed for horse trading in Rajasthan. We received specific information from our internal sources in Maharashtra that leaders from the state unit of the BJP transferred ₹500 crore crore through hawala,” Sawant said.
He also said that he spoke to state home minister Anil Deshmukh over the illegal transaction of money and demanded action.
“Deshmukhsaheb told me that even he has similar information received by his department. He has agreed to conduct a probe in the transfer of the funds. The BJP masterminds in Maharashtra involved in such an unethical act need to be exposed,” said Sawant.
According to Sawant, the money for the alleged hawala transaction was collected from builders and traders in Maharashtra.
“The Centre is misusing central agencies such as the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] and the Enforcement Directorate along with money power to topple the non-BJP governments in several states. Likewise, the Maharashtra unit also contributed in bringing down the Janata Dal (S)-Congress government in Karnataka last year. Rebel legislators from Karnataka were put up at a Mumbai hotel and meetings were held at the residence of state unit chief Chandrakant Patil,” Sawant alleged.
Hitting back at the Congress, Maharashtra BJP vice-president Madhav Bhandari said if the allegations were true, why did the state government fail to stop the alleged transaction when one of the parties in the government was in know of it.
“Congress is a part of the government which taps phones and keeps information of such transactions. If the party had specific information on such a money transfer, the government should have stopped it. The question that arises here is if Maharashtra Congress itself was interested in toppling the Gehlot government and thus did not intervene. It is Maharashtra Congress’s old habit to level allegations without any proof or substance,” said Bhandari.
Party spokesperson Keshav Upadhye also termed the allegations as “baseless and false”. “Sachin Sawant is known for such meaningless accusations and has no credibility even in his own party,” said Upadhye.
