Without naming anyone, the Rajya Sabha member, who is in New Delhi to attend Parliament’s monsoon session, alleged “four ministers and many officers have been honey trapped”.

Raut alleged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had lied in the legislative assembly last week when he said no case of blackmailing through honeytrap had come to light in the state.

“Of the MPs who left the (undivided Shiv Sena), four were honey trapped and they were pressured (to defect) and got cleansed after joining hands with the BJP,” he told reporters.

After the rebellion, Shinde became CM with the BJP’s support in June 2022.

Congress MLA Nana Patole had last week also demanded a formal statement from the state government in the assembly regarding an alleged honeytrap racket targeting officials posted in Thane, Nashik and Mantralaya (secretariat) in Mumbai. Patole claimed he had “evidence” in the form of a pen drive to back his claim.

Reacting strongly to Raut’s statements, state Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said, “He should not be afraid. If he has any material related to honeytrap claims, he must come forward and show it.” The senior BJP minister described the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader’s allegations as “nothing but a poor attempt to stay in the limelight”.

Bawankule accused the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders of spreading outright lies after losing power.

Leaders of the MVA, which consists of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (SP), could not even save their own MLAs and MPs (during rebellion), but now they are resorting to falsehoods, he maintained.

He refuted Raut’s assertion that a current minister involved in the alleged Nashik honeytrap case had travelled to Guwahati shortly after several Shiv Sena leaders went to the Assam city during the 2022 rebellion.

“If the opposition has any proof (in support of honeytrap claim), they should present it to people. They should not fear anyone,” Bawankule added.

Another BJP cabinet minister, Girish Mahajan, also hit back at Raut over his allegations and dismissed them as “foolish” and lacking any credibility.

“Raut has made foolish claims. Just because someone has a photograph with Praful Lodha (a controversial Jalgaon politician who faces a criminal case in Mumbai) does not mean they are part of any criminal conspiracy,” he said.

The Shiv Sena (UBT) MP had earlier claimed in Delhi that four pen drives and two CDs related to the case were under police examination. He also pointed to a photograph of Mahajan with Praful Lodha to support his claims.

Mahajan claimed Lodha had photos with leaders across party lines, including NCP (SP) president Sharad Pawar, party MLA Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP (SP) MP Supriya Sule.

“He also has a photo with VBA (Vanchit Bahujan Aaghadi) leader Prakash Ambedkar as Lodha had contested the Lok Sabha elections on a VBA ticket,” he added.

Mahajan maintained that being seen in a photograph with someone does not imply involvement in any wrongdoing and accused Raut of making irresponsible statements without evidence.

His arch rival and NCP (SP) leader Eknath Khadse demanded a thorough investigation into the allegations related to Lodha.

Mahajan, however, dismissed Khadse’s remarks as delusional, stating that he would not stoop to such a low level.

“A few years ago, I had seen a video in which Praful Lodha was seen using extremely derogatory language against Eknath Khadse. What should one call that? In every issue, Khadse drags my name and tries to malign me. There seems to be something wrong with his mental state, but I will not stoop to his level,” Mahajan said.

Referring to Khadse’s demand for an SIT probe into a complaint filed by Lodha last year against Mahajan and one Rameshwar Naik, the minister hit back, saying, “Khadse is now demanding an SIT probe into Lodhaâs complaint, but a few years ago, Lodha had demanded an SIT probe into the suicide case of Khadseâs son. At that time, I stood by Khadse. So should there be a probe into that case now?” He said Lodha had been arrested by the police and that the truth would come out through the ongoing investigation. PTI PR ND GK RSY NSK