New Delhi: Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange Patil on Thursday (October 22) released a purported audio clip wherein a woman has claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) gave Rs 500 crore to Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde as an effort to pacify Jarange Patil and the Maratha community ahead of the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections, reported New Indian Express.Deputy chief minister Shinde, who is also the chief of Shiv Sena and a key ally of the BJP in Maharashtra has denied the allegations.In the audio released by Patil on Thursday, the person alleges that the BJP paid Rs 500 crore to Jarange Patil through Shinde’s son, Dr Shrikant Shind – a Lok Sabha MP – to silence Patil and weaken his agitation for Maratha reservation.However, Jarange Patil said that he had neither received any money, nor agreed to abandon his movement.Citing the audio clip, Jarange Patil alleged that attempts were being made to weaken the Maratha movement.He called on the state leadership to take the allegations seriously and ensure that the matter was investigated.Rejecting the allegations, deputy chief minister Shinde said that he is ready for any probe and that he had neither given nor received Rs 500 crore from the BJP.