Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday alleged that four Maharashtra ministers and "many" government officials have been "honey trapped", sparking a sharp rebuttal from leaders of the ruling BJP who dismissed his claims as "foolish" and lacking in credibility.

In a post on X, Raut claimed four young MPs of the then undivided Shiv Sena were "honey trapped", leading them to defect and join the faction headed by now Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who spearheaded a rebellion against party chief Uddhav Thackeray's leadership in June 2022.

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, speaking to reporters in the national capital, went on to allege 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 claimed.

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, echoing the position taken by Chief Minister Fadnavis earlier.

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

Speaking to reporters, Mahajan said, "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." 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.

In response, Mahajan said 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," the BJP minister noted.

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

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