Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday accused Shiv Sena (UBT) parliamentarian Sanjay Raut of fabricating an artificial intelligence-generated audio clip that alleges a 500-crore-rupee payout to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. The saffron party claimed that Rahul Gandhi was behind a contract to damage the BJP politically and create divisions between the BJP, the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Mr. Jarange.
BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban urged authorities to register a case against Mr. Raut if deemed necessary and called for an investigation into whether the Sena (UBT) leader received financial backing from Mr. Gandhi. According to Mr. Ban, the conspiracy was managed from a war room in Navi Mumbai's Vashi, alleging that Mr. Raut had spent nearly two months stitching together voice samples from YouTube to produce the recording.
Mr. Ban further alleged that the script was drafted at the office of the Marathi newspaper Saamana and that the financial figure mentioned in the clip was initially set at 100 crore rupees before being increased to 500 crore rupees for maximum media impact. He stated that the resulting audio file was delivered to an individual in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar who subsequently passed it on to Mr. Jarange.
The controversy intensified after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis ordered a forensic investigation into the recording, while Mr. Jarange called for a Special Investigation Team inquiry. The audio clip had been made public by Mr. Jarange in Jalna after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde challenged him to substantiate claims that funds had been funneled through Mr. Shinde's son, MP Shrikant Shinde.
The viral recording features speakers discussing strategies to counter the growing political influence of Mr. Jarange in the Marathwada region ahead of assembly elections. Mr. Ban reiterated that the plot was designed exclusively to benefit the Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) while undermining the BJP, Mr. Shinde, and Mr. Jarange, noting that the activist himself remained doubtful of the audio's authenticity.