The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said that Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut, at the behest of Rahul Gandhi, orchestrated a fake audio clip, purportedly claiming that BJP functionaries offered Rs 500 crore to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange.BJP spokesperson Navnath Ban alleged that the clip was generated using artificial intelligence to advance Rahul Gandhi's agenda and create a rift among ruling alliance partners. He demanded that a case be registered against Raut, if necessary, and that a probe be conducted into whether he received funding from Rahul Gandhi for the alleged conspiracy.BJP alleges audio clip was scripted at Saamana office"Sanjay Raut orchestrated the conspiracy from a war room in Navi Mumbai's Vashi. The contract to defame the BJP has been taken by Raut from Rahul Gandhi. Raut has been consistently pushing Gandhi's agenda over the past few days," Ban said.He alleged that Raut had been working on the audio clip for nearly two months, using AI to combine voice samples available on YouTube."Raut scripted the purported conversations at the (Sena UBT mouthpiece) Saamana's office and initially considered an allegation involving Rs 100 crore before raising the amount to Rs 500 crore to attract greater media attention," he added.
Ban claimed the clip was intended to tarnish the reputations of BJP leaders, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde and Jarange, and trigger a conflict between them.BJP MLC Prasad Lad also demanded that Raut be named the main accused and "conspirator"."An offence should be registered, and Sanjay Raut should be the first person to be picked up for questioning. He should be questioned about how he knew how the clip was made, who made it and what went into its creation," Lad told reporters.Lad also alleged that the clip was created at the Saamana press."Sanjay Raut was the writer of the audio clip and conceptualised what each person should say and how they should say it. The voice-overs were generated through AI," he alleged.Raut blames BJP's internal rivalry for leakRaut, meanwhile, claimed that the leak was a result of fierce internal competition within the BJP. He said Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis should first register a case and then order a forensic examination of the audio clip, though he claimed the probe would yield no results."The clip was leaked by a BJP MLC. He was involved in the talks with Jarange. The CM treated him with a lot of affection, which has backfired," Raut said without naming the lawmaker."If an internal audio clip is getting leaked, then the Home Department has gone against you (the CM)," he said, adding that the BJP was the victim of a sting operation.Raut further claimed that the "cold war" between Fadnavis and his deputy Shinde had reached its peak, alleging that the two could go to any length to politically eliminate each other.Jarange alleges conspiracy to weaken Maratha agitationJarange also released the audio clip, alleging that a conspiracy had been hatched to silence him and weaken the Maratha reservation movement.Speaking to the media in Jalna, Jarange claimed he was being targeted because he had been raising issues concerning farmers and ordinary citizens."We have revealed the things (hidden) behind the curtain. In fact, we have torn the curtain. Leaders of all political parties have woken up because of this, which is important for me. I will be going to the root of this case," he said.Jarange urged Fadnavis and Shinde to get to the bottom of the matter and ensure that no one involved was spared.He alleged that "party funds" had been used to defame him and the Maratha quota agitation, without specifying the party."Shinde should look into this and should not spare those involved, even if they are part of his group. If he does not act, we will believe that no caste or community should expect justice from the government," Jarange said.What happenedOn Thursday, Jarange released around 10 minutes of a 32-minute audio clip alleging that Rs 500 crore had been paid to him to call off his agitation. He claimed the recording exposed a conspiracy to weaken the reservation movement.
In the viral recording, which purportedly features BJP functionaries, a woman is heard claiming that Rs 500 crore had been delivered to Jarange through Shrikant Shinde, son of Eknath Shinde and a Shiv Sena MP.The speakers are also heard discussing strategies to counter Jarange's growing political influence in the Marathwada region ahead of the 2024 assembly elections.On Friday, Fadnavis ordered a forensic examination of the audio clip amid allegations by Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam that BJP insiders were colluding with Jarange to "finish off" Shinde politically.
Rohitashwa Ranjan is a digital journalist with The Times of India, where he decodes Indian politics as a carefully staged production with scripts, subtext and everything behind. His stories track elections, party dynamics and the things that often are buried beneath the headlines. When not parsing vote shares or alliances, he is usually reading between the lines, where the real story tends to reside.