A day after Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil asked whether Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had told the BJP leadership to pay him Rs 500 crore to “silence” him , Shinde on Wednesday denied having given or received any such amount.

“All our spokespersons are speaking on this. I have neither given 500 crores to anyone nor taken it from anyone. On what basis is Jarange speaking? He should have verified the facts before speaking,” Shinde told reporters in New Delhi.

Shinde asked Jarange to submit evidence to the concerned authorities so that the truth could come out. “The entire state and country know Eknath Shinde . Everyone knows my working style. Mentioning Eknath Shinde makes headlines. Manoj Jarange is working for the Maratha community. When I was the Chief Minister, I worked to deliver justice to the community,” he said.

Jarange made the allegation at his Dussehra rally in Beed on Tuesday afternoon.…