'Is This Acche Din?': Raut Claims Maha BJP Chief Spent Rs 3.5 Cr In Gambling At Macao Casino, Party Hits Back

According to the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Bawankule spent Rs 3.5 crore in only three hours while gaming there.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut.

Source : Getty

The Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Bharatiya Janata Party clashed on Monday when Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut accused the saffron party's Maharashtra unit chairman Chandrashekhar Bawankule of gambling for Rs 3.5 crore at a Macao casino, news agency PTI reported. The BJP replied by posting a photo on social media of Raut's colleague Aaditya Thackeray with a glass and asking "what brand of whisky" the former state minister was sipping. Raut had shared a photo of Bawankule that he said was taken at a casino in Macao, China's special administrative area.

ते म्हणे..
फॅमिल सह मकाऊ ला गेले आहेत..जाऊ द्या.
त्यांची सोबत बसलेली फॅमिली चिनी आहे का?
ते म्हणे..
कधीच जुगार खेळले नाहीत..
मग ते नक्की काय करीत आहेत? त्यांच्या टेबलावर मारुती स्तोत्र आहे का?
जेवढे खुलासे कराल तेवढे फसाल!
झाला तेवढा तमाशा पुरेसा नाही काय!@BJP4Maharashtra… pic.twitter.com/aIjd3eJTO0

— Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) November 20, 2023

According to the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader, Bawankule spent Rs 3.5 crore in only three hours while gaming there.

Responding to the allegations, the BJP said on its official X handle stated that "our state unit president Bawankule had never played gambling in his life" and that "he was staying there with his family".

संजू भाऊचा सकाळी 9 वाजताच्या भोंग्यापूर्वीचा ‘ब्रँड’ तर संपूर्ण महाराष्ट्राला आता कळून चुकला आहे.

पण, आज दुपारच्या वायफळ बडबडीपूर्वीचा ब्रँड आता शोधूनच काढावा लागेल. बंदा ये @rautsanjay61 कौनसा नशा करता है...? https://t.co/jCVwnr0Ayl

— भाजपा महाराष्ट्र (@BJP4Maharashtra) November 20, 2023

Slamming Raut, the BJP further said "those whose entire life had become a gamble cannot see anything else".

Uploading a photograph, the BJP said, "We want Raut to reveal what brand of whiskey is in the glass of Aaditya Thackeray?"

Speaking with media, Raut said: "I have 27 photos and five videos of him (Bawankule), but I have the decency not to publish them. If I make those videos public, it will cause major embarrassment to him and the party."

"All I demand is what exactly was he doing there. I am told by someone present there that he spent nearly Rs 3.5 crore in just one night. I was aware of (stamp paper prime accused) Telgi spending Rs 1 crore in just one night at a dance bar. Should we call his (Bawankule) extravagant spending as acche din?” Raut said slamming Bawankule.

The more the BJP attempts to conceal or deny the issue, the more it will be revealed, according to Raut.

"If Bawankule was not gambling, what was he doing at the casino table? He spent Rs 3.5 crore in just three hours. He made the payment in US dollars," Raut alleged.

Maharashtra is beleaguered by a number of pressing challenges, and its people are suffering, yet Bawankule claims to be having a good time at the Venetian Macao, which is famed for casinos and gambling.

Raut said: "It doesn't look nice."

When asked about Aaditya Thackeray's photograph, Raut hit back and stated: "Whatever Prime Minister Narendra Modi drinks from his glass is the same drink Aaditya was seen drinking."

Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis claimed Raut's "distorted mentality" and "frustration" were on display.

Fadnavis stated that Bawankule was present with his family and that they were eating at a restaurant that also houses the casino.

"On purpose, an incomplete photo has been uploaded. The complete photo clearly shows Bawankule, his wife, daughter and his entire family. Hence, this kind of distorted mentality should end somewhere because so much frustration is not proper," Fadnavis said attacking Raut.

संजय राऊत यांची विकृत मानसिकता दिसून आली. pic.twitter.com/fHGf2ArveT

— भाजपा महाराष्ट्र (@BJP4Maharashtra) November 20, 2023

Such assertions, he claimed, were degrading the quality of politics by morphing and altering images.