Saurabha Kulshreshtha and Yogesh Naik
Mumbai: A deal of at least ₹2,000 crore was struck to purchase the Shiv Sena party name and its bow-and-arrow symbol, alleged Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday, adding that a builder close to the ruling dispensation shared this information with him.
Raut’s allegations came two days after the Election Commission of India (ECI) allotted the Shiv Sena party name and its election symbol to the group led by Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde. However, both Shinde’s party and its ally, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) dismissed the Rajya Sabha member’s claims.
“I have reliable information that there has been a deal of ₹2,000 crore to get the Shiv Sena symbol and name so far. This is a preliminary figure and is 100% true,” Raut tweeted. “Many things will be revealed shortly. Never before this has happened in the country’s history.”
He told reporters that some builders close to the current government have informed him about this “deal”, adding he will provide proof soon. The Rajya Sabha member also alleged that the ECI’s decision was bought through this deal.
Dismissing Raut’s allegations as “baseless”, Shiv Sena MLA Sada Sarvankar, close to Shinde, asked: “Is Sanjay Raut a cashier?”
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar also hit back at Raut, saying such baseless comments were an attempt to malign independent institutions like the Supreme Court and the ECI. “People will teach a lesson to those who make such comments which disrespect democracy,” he said. “Hope better sense prevails.”