BJP ally RSP accused of cheating

On eve of the swearing-in of the first BJP government in Maharashtra, its ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha was Thursday accused of cheating by the management of Mumbai's famous Shanmukhananda Hall.

According to a spokesperson for the hall management, the RSP booked the Sri Shanmukhananda Chandrasekarendra Saraswati Auditorium in central Mumbai for a party function Aug 11, for four hours.

The RSP, which is led by Mahadeo Jankar, issued a cheque of Rs.9.36 lakh towards deposit, rent and other services to the hall management.

However, when the cheque was presented to the Nagar Urban Cooperative Bank Ltd., Kashti branch in Shrigonda, Ahmednagar district, Aug 12, it bounced due to lack of sufficient funds in the account.

On the RSP's instructions, the management again presented it for payment, but it bounced again, this time with the remark "Account Closed".

Contacted for comments, RSP national president Jankar and state president Balasaheb Nahata's cell phones were found switched off, while party general secretary Mohan Mane said he was "not aware of the incident".

The hall management took a dig at the RSP which claims to be "a party of national communities, now moving towards political power and the voice of the silent majority".

"Not just political bankruptcy, but also financial bankruptcy. This party, by closing its bank account, cannot evade its legal liability to pay," the spokesperson said.

Now, the management has slapped a legal notice on the RSP to recover its dues and also demand that the RSP should be derecognised as a party for its fraudulent ways.

The RSP was part of the new 'Grand Alliance' headed by the Bharatiya Janata Party after its 25-year-old ties with the Shiv Sena snapped Sep 25.

Of the BJP's new allies RSP, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana and the Republican Party of India-A, only the RSP's lone candidate Rahul S. Kul won from Daund assembly constituency.