‘Shinde gang crossed over for ₹50 crore’

MUMBAI: Tension is currently rife in the ruling Balasahebanchi Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance. Bachchu Kadu, an MLA from the Prahar Janashakti Party who quit the MVA government along with Shinde, has taken strong objection to the allegations by Ravi Rana, an independent MLA supporting the BJP, that he switched sides in exchange for ₹50 crore.

Kadu has given an ultimatum to both chief minister Eknath Shinde and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis saying that the duo needs to disclose to the public if it paid that sum to each of the rebel MLAs to pull down the Uddhav Thackeray government.

The trouble began earlier this week when Rana alleged that Kadu, who, like him, hails from Amravati, took “pannaas khoke” (Rs 50 crore) to switch loyalties. An enraged Kadu averred that if Rana failed to prove the allegation, he would take legal steps against him as it was a “question of existence” for him and other lawmakers from the Shinde camp. He added that because of the allegations of “cash for rebellion”, people were taunting them even when they attended wedding ceremonies in their constituencies.

Rebel MLAs from the Shinde camp have been facing taunts from the opposition ever since they defected. The slogan ‘Pannas khoke, ekdam ok’ was a common refrain in all the political protests staged by the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and its allies since the fall of the MVA government in June this year. However, the similar allegation by Rana is more significant since the MLA is considered to be close to BJP leader and deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. His statements have consequently created a flutter in political circles.

Kadu, while speaking to the media, took exception to the fact that the MLAs’ “integrity”, which they had built up in their political careers, was being questioned. “Rana is an MLA supported by the BJP,” he said. “If he says we have taken money, he should clarify who paid it— whether it came from chief minister Eknath Shinde, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis or some other senior leader. Our political careers are at stake because of such allegations. I will wait till November 1 for evidence, and thereafter will take legal steps.”

Kadu’s ultimatum, however, is being seen as a pressure tactic for his induction into the state cabinet during the next cabinet expansion. The MLA, who heads his two-legislator Prahar Janashakti Party, has been eyeing a cabinet berth for some time now. And, if school education minister and the Shinde camp’s spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar is to be believed, he will get it soon. The tussle between Rana and Kadu is not the only incident of discontent among MLAs in the ruling alliance. Chimanrao Patil, another Shinde camp MLA from Erandol in Jalgaon, has written a letter to the CM against Gulabrao Patil as guardian minister of Jalgaon, has been helping his local rival and NCP leader Satish Patil with funds to curb the competition from within the district. “I am planning to meet the CM over this issue,” he told reporters.