Jalna/Mumbai:Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Thursday released an audio clip, which purportedly claims that Rs 500 crore had been delivered to him through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, and alleged that a conspiracy had been hatched to silence him and weaken his agitation.

He made the audio clip public, a day after Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde dared him to prove the allegation that the latter had secured Rs 500 crore from the BJP and funnelled it via his son and MP Shrikant Shinde. Reacting to the audio clip row, state minister and BJP leader Chandrashekhar Bawankule said if Jarange has concrete evidence regarding the Rs 500 crore claim, he should lodge a complaint with the police or the district collector, while his party colleague and minister Ashish Shelar questioned the veracity of the audio.