Sanjay Raut alleges attempt to bribe State Legislature’s panel during Dhule visit, CM orders SIT probe

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut.
| Photo Credit: ANI

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has alleged that his party workers foiled an attempt to bribe the Maharashtra Legislature’s estimates committee when they were in Dhule to inspect developmental works.  

Reacting to the allegation, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called it a serious allegation and said that if someone has raised a question on the Legislature’s estimates committee then it is the government’s responsibility to get to the bottom of the truth. “A question mark on a legislative committee cannot be tolerated. The respect and dignity of the Legislature have to be upheld. An SIT will be formed to ascertain the truth. A probe will be conducted into the money trail and whether anyone has asked for it. I would request the Assembly Speaker and Council Chairperson to set up a separate ethics committee to ascertain the truth.“  

On Wednesday (May 21, 2025) night, Mr. Raut made allegations over a post on X that read, “When the legislative Assembly MLA’s estimates committee visited Dhule district today, about five and a half crore rupees were kept in room number 102 at the Dhule government rest house, Gulmohar, to bribe the committee.”   

Former Shiv Sena MLA Anil Anna Gote, Shiv Sena district chief Atul Sonawane, Deputy District Chief Narendra Pardeshi, Metropolitan Chief Dheeraj Patil and all Shiv Sena office bearers locked and guarded the room from outside. “Despite informing the district collector, superintendent of police and Anti-Corruption Bureau, no one has come even after four to five hours. There is no cooperation from the administration. The bribe was meant to suppress corruption in development works and officials’ involvement in it,” he added.    

Speaking to journalists on Thursday (May 22, 2025), Mr. Raut called for a thorough probe into the matter to investigate the person under whose name room 102 was booked. Mr. Gore claimed that the room was booked under the name of committee chairman Arjun Khotkar’s personal assistant (PA) Kishore Patil, however, Mr. Khotkar rubbished the allegations.   

Denying the allegations, Mr. Khotkar said, “The money found in the rest house had nothing to do with the committee. I have spoken to my PA, and he told me that he had not booked that room but the one next to it was booked by him.” 

The estimates committee has the power to scrutinise the utilisation of funds allocated to a particular area in the State budget.  

Later in the day, Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal at a press conference in Mumbai, criticised the State government and said that this cash scam has exposed the corruption of the Mr. Fadnavis’s governance in Maharashtra.  

“This is an open and shut case, what is there for the CM set up SIT? By now, everybody knows that money was recovered from the PA’s room of the committee chairperson Arjun Khotkar. There is nothing to probe. Mr. Khotkar, his PA and the person involved in transferring the cash, need to be taken into custody. This incident has exposed the power structure in the Fadnavis government.”  

Mr. Sapkal further alleged that State institutions like Mantralaya and the “triple engine gang” (the Mahayuti alliance- CM and two deputy CMs), hold zero interest for the welfare of people’s issues such as, loan waiver, farmers issues or increasing the Ladki Bahin Yojana aid, they are only interested in pushing forward the ₹80,000 crore Shaktipeeth Expressway from Nagpur to Konkan.