India, Oct. 23 -- Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of conspiring against him ahead of the 2024 elections, on Thursday. During a press conference in Jalna district - the seat of the quota activist's many protests - he released purported audio clips of BJP leaders discussing money allegedly paid to him to control the political narrative.

This follows his recent claim that deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde boasted to the BJP leadership about channelling Rs.500 crore to the activist through his son, MP Shrikant Shinde. In response, the deputy chief minister denied the allegations and demanded a formal investigation to determine if the audio clips are AI-generated fakes.

Jarange-Patil had ...