MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena on Thursday extended its support to MLA Harshwardhan Jadhav who had accused PWD minister Chandrakant Patil of offering him Rs 5 crore to switch over to BJP and demanded a probe into the matter.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that Jadhav's revelation has thrown light into the way the BJP would run the government without its support. Raut said, "Harshwardhan Jadhav has shown the BJP's formula for saving the government. This means they have money for horse-trading. This is black money. It needs to be probed."
Jadhav on Wednesday had said that while he was following up some pending issues with PWD minister Chandrakant Patil, the minister offered him Rs 5 crore to switch over to the BJP. Jadhav who is MLA from Kannad Assembly constituency in Aurangabad district is the son-in-law of state BJP president Raosaheb Danve.
The BJP, however, quickly refuted charges leveled by Jadhav and said that the MLA was just venting out his frustration. "Jadhav has said that the alleged offer came about a month ago, then why did he wait for over a month to speak about the offer?" asked BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari and added, "Chandrakant Patil's credentials are well established. However, Harshawardhan Jadhav has switched parties in the past."
Bhandari also pointed out that Jadhav's allegations came just a day after party president Uddhav Thackeray's Aurangabad tour. "What transpired during the visit that made Jadhav level allegations need to be probed," he added.