Guwahati: Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra triggered by a section of rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by Eknath Shinde, who are now camping in Assam, the NCP on Saturday sought to know who was paying the bills of hotels in Guwahati and Surat.
The NCP, which shares power with Sena and Congress in the state, also asked the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to find out the source of “black money” involved.
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NCP’s chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked, “Who is paying the bills of hotels in Surat and Guwahati as well as the chartered flight? Is it true that the horsetrading rate is Rs 50 crore?”
“If ED and IT get activated, the source of the black money will be exposed,” he added.
Majority of Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to minister Eknath Shinde and are camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, into a crisis.
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The MLAs, led by Shinde, first put up at a hotel in Surat in Gujarat late on Monday from where they flew to Guwahati, on Wednesday morning.
After landing at the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati, the rebel MLAs were taken to the Radisson Blu hotel in three Assam State Transport Corporation luxury buses, escorted by the police.
According to reports, a total of 70 rooms of the hotel have been booked for seven days for Rs 56 lakh.
Adding to this is the daily estimated expense for food and other services at Rs 8 lakh (Rs 56 lakh for seven days), taking the total seven-day cost to Rs 1.12 crore.
Earlier on Thursday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that Assam government has helped the rebel Shiv Sena MLAS who are camping in hotel.
Earlier on Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma visited the hotel hosting the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs.
Sarma, was seen checking into the Radisson Blu in Guwahati and his convoy was seen exiting early in the morning before the rebel Sena MLAs arrived.