BJP accuses Sanjay Raut of plotting AI audio clip on Rs 500 crore payment to Jarange

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday accused Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut of plotting an AI-generated audio clip. The clip claims that Rs 500 crore was given to Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange. The BJP also alleged that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had given Raut a "contract" to defame the party. The allegations have not been independently proven so far.

BJP leaders said the aim of the whole exercise was to drive a wedge between the BJP, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and Jarange. The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) would have benefited from this. BJP chief spokesperson Navnath Ban demanded an inquiry into Raut's alleged role, and into whether he received money from Gandhi for the alleged operation.

Ban told reporters, "Sanjay Raut hatched this conspiracy from a war room in Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Raut has taken the contract from Rahul Gandhi to defame the BJP. For the past few days Raut has been continuously advancing Gandhi's agenda."

He alleged that Raut had been working on the clip for about two months, and that it was made with artificial intelligence by stitching together voice samples available on YouTube. According to Ban, the script of the alleged conversation was written at the office of Saamana, the newspaper linked to Shiv Sena (UBT). He said the script first spoke of Rs 100 crore, and the sum was then raised to Rs 500 crore to draw more media attention.

Ban also claimed the clip was handed to a person in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, who passed it on to Jarange. According to him, the recording was made so that the image of BJP leaders, Shinde and Jarange would be damaged and the three would clash with one another. Ban said he would write to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking an inquiry into Raut's alleged role and the alleged war room in Vashi. In his words, a case should be registered against Raut if required.

The row escalated when Jarange released the audio clip in Jalna on Thursday. He alleged a conspiracy had been hatched to silence him and weaken the Maratha reservation movement. Shinde had challenged him to prove that Rs 500 crore was taken from the BJP and that the money reached him through Shinde's son, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde. Jarange made the recording public after that.

Chief Minister Fadnavis said on Friday that the recording would undergo a forensic examination to bring out the facts. Jarange has demanded an inquiry by an impartial Special Investigation Team (SIT). Ban and BJP Legislative Council member Prasad Lad separately claimed that an SIT inquiry had already been ordered. Minister of State for Home Pankaj Bhoyar has also said an SIT has been formed.

Lad demanded that Raut be made the main accused in the alleged conspiracy and that investigators question him. He told reporters, "A case should be registered and Sanjay Raut should be picked up for questioning first. He should be asked how he knows how the clip was made, who made it and what all went into it."

Lad said that, according to the information he has received, the recording was made at the Saamana press. Raut imagined the conversation and the voices were produced with AI. He said, "The SIT should investigate how the audio clip was made, how it spread and how it reached Jarange." He demanded a forensic examination and an inspection of the newspaper's studio. Lad said he would write to Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister Shinde, Sunetra Pawar, the state Director General of Police and the Minister of State for Home, seeking Raut's questioning.

The row has also exposed friction within the ruling alliance. Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam alleged that people inside the BJP want to politically "finish" Shinde together with Jarange.

In the recording, a woman is allegedly heard saying that Rs 500 crore was routed to Jarange through Shrikant Shinde. The speakers are also allegedly heard discussing a strategy to cut into Jarange's growing political influence in the Marathwada region ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly election. The BJP has questioned the recording's authenticity, while Jarange says it points to a conspiracy against him and the Maratha movement.