Nitesh Rane tweeted a pic alleging Sena's Chandrakant Khaire paid people for rally
A day after Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray addressed a rally in Aurangabad, BJP MLA Nitesh Rane on Thursday tweeted a photograph of Sena leader Chandrakant Khaire standing with a bundle of cash in hand and surrounded by a few people.
Mr Rane posted the photo, which was taken from a top angle and which does not clearly show anyone's face, with a caption in Marathi that read, "Virat sabhecha formula" (formula for a grand rally), implying that people were paid to attend Mr Thackeray's rally held at Marathwada Sanskrutik Mandal ground in the city.
Talking about Mr Rane's tweet, Mr Khaire said, "This is an old photograph. My dress was different today. See the colour of my hair in that photo. The picture tweeted (by Rane) was clicked maybe 5-10 years back when someone took money from me for some temple construction."
"I am going to meet the Commissioner of Police and ask him to register an offence in this connection. If it is not done, then I will file a formal complaint. BJP should not make such false claims. People came to the rally by spending from their own pockets," he said.
Mr Khaire is Shiv Sena's former Lok Sabha member from Aurangabad.