Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Bitcoin scandal on voting day escalates Pawar family conflict

Baramati/Mumbai: The political rivalry within the Pawar-clan came out in open yet again on the day Maharashtra went to polls when Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said that the purported audio tapes on the alleged bitcoin fraud have voice of his cousin sister and Baramati MP Supriya Sule.

Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who is the state Home Minister, said that the allegations are serious and there should be a proper impartial probe so that the truth comes out.

Family patriarch and NCP (SP) supremo Sharad Pawar said: “The person who made allegations was in jail for several months…the allegations are not worthy to be taken note of…the allegations are baseless…only the BJP can not this.”

Sharad Pawar is the uncle of five-time Deputy Chief Minister and seven time Baramati MLA Ajit Pawar, who now commands the NCP while Supriya Sule is his daughter and four-time Lok Sabha MP from Baramati and one-term Rajya Sabha member.

“Its false…'jhoot hain, jhoot hain,” said Supriya Sule.

A retired police officer, Ravindranath Patil, has accused Supriya Sule and state Congress President Nana Patole of being involved in a fraud case involving cryptocurrency that dates back to 2018.

The funds, he alleged, have been used for campaigning in the Assembly elections.

BJP spokesperson Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi, who amplified the charges, claimed the development has "unmasked" the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Ajit Pawar, when asked by reporters about the tape involving Supriya Sule and Patole, said: "Whatever audio clip is being shown, I just know that I have worked with both of them. One of them is my sister and the other is someone with whom I have worked a lot. The audio clip has their voices, I can figure out from their tone. An inquiry will be done and everything will be clear.”

However, Supriya Sule said: “Trivedi made five allegations and asked me five questions and they are all false. I am happy to sit with him in any public forum -- place time and forum of his choice. It is all false and I have lodged a cybercrime complaint. I have nothing to do with any transfer of bitcoin... this shows the BJP's desperation.”

She has already sent a defamation notice against Dr Trivedi, a Rajya Sabha member and filed complaints with the Election Commission of India and Cyber Crime police. “It’s appalling that such baseless allegations are made by Trivedi, yet not surprising as it’s a clear case of spreading false information, the night before elections,” she said.

Patil, who had taken voluntary retirement from the police force, was roped in by the Pune police along with cyber expert Pankaj Ghode to investigate a couple of cryptocurrency cases registered in 2018.

In Baramati, Ajit Pawar is facing his nephew Yugendra Pawar, who has been pitted by Sharad Pawar and Supriya Sule.

In the Lok Sabha polls, Supriya Sule had defeated Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar, who is now a Rajya Sabha member.

I am a farmer, don't even understand bitcoin: Patole

In his defence, Patole said: The entire country knows my voice. Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows my voice very well. BJP has started such kind of politics as they are afraid to lose. I am a farmer…I don't even understand Bitcoin. We have .. A day after BJP national general secretary Vinod Tawde was caught distributing money and liquor was found in the storehouse of PA of Devendra Fadnavis. They want to bring note-jihad and liquor-jihad.”

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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