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.






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".






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.






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