Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 11: After Sanjay Gaikwad, it is now Sanjay Shirsat, both belonging to the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) faction, who have hit the headlines. While a police case has been filed against Sanjay Gaikwad for slapping a canteen staff in a state-run guest house, Sanjay Shirsat, the social justice minister in the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet in Maharashtra, is being accused of holding black money.
Mr Shirsat sparked a row after a video surfaced online allegedly showing him smoking in a private room with a bag suspected to be filled with cash beside him. The footage went viral just a day after he confirmed receiving an income tax notice to explain a sharp increase in his assets between the 2019 and 2024 Assembly elections.
The video was posted on the social media by Sanjay Raut of the rival Shiv Sena (UBT) faction. In a pointed attack on the ruling alliance, Mr Raut wrote, “I feel pity for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis! How many more times will he just sit and watch his reputation being torn to shreds? Helplessness has another name – Fadnavis!” Mr Shirsat, however, claimed that the bag in the video next to him contained clothes and not cash as was accused Mr Raut.
The accusations got meat in view of the income tax notice and black money he talked about recently, which he later claimed was spoken by him only in a lighter vein.
Mr Shirsat, who represents Aurangabad (West), confirmed that the Income Tax Department had issued him a notice seeking clarification on the growth of his personal assets over the past five years. “Some people had filed a complaint against me with the income-tax department, based on which I was issued a notice. I was supposed to respond to it on Wednesday, but requested for more time. I will give a proper response. Nothing wrong has been done,” Mr Shirsat said.
Mr Raut’s party colleague Aaditya Thackeray also jumped to criticise Mr Shirsat, urging the tax department and Chief Minister Fadnavis to take action. “Today, it’s Sanjay Shirsat, sitting in his vest and underwear. We talk about ‘Khokhe’ (boxes of cash), ’50 Khokhe, Ekdum Okay’, one is clearly seen in the video. All these antics happening in just vests and undergarments, bags full of cash beside him, where did all this money come from? Who gave it? Can anyone just roam around carrying such wads of notes? And regarding the Income Tax notice that came the day before, will the IT department take any action? Will any action be taken on the orders of the Chief Minister or not? These are important questions that need answers,” Mr Thackeray said.
Yesterday, Mr Shirsat initially claimed that Shrikant Shinde, Lok Sabha MP and son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, had also received a similar notice. He later retracted the statement, saying: “Someone asked me a leading question… My response was presented as if I was confirming a notice to Shrikant Shinde. I want to clarify that I have no information about that.”
In a separate incident earlier this week, a video clip of Mr Shirsat speaking at an event in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar surfaced online, where he appeared to make light of the situation. In the video, the minister is heard saying: “Now, black money is not going to be useful. I am speaking for myself.”
He added that he has already contacted his chartered accountant and is preparing a detailed response to the notice. “It is easy to earn money, but using it has become difficult,” he quipped, drawing laughter from the audience. The minister attempted to downplay the clip, insisting that his comments were meant humorously and not an admission of any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, only a non-cognisable offence has been filed “slapgate” accused Sanjay Gaikwad in the MLA hostel canteen worker assault case, Mumbai Police said on Friday. “The process to file the offence is underway at the Marine Drive police station,” a police official said. After the incident, which happened on Tuesday night, sparked a furore, the two-time Buldhana MLA refused to express regret and said he would repeat his actions if needed.
In a viral video of the assault, Mr Gaikwad was seen punching and slapping the canteen worker, claiming that he was served stale food. Even after the chief minister strongly rebuked the defaulting member and said such actions by a people’s representative send a wrong message to the public, Mr Gaikwad maintained that he did nothing wrong and would not hesitate to repeat the feat if anyone behaved with him in the same manner.