Sena minister's son to check out of hotel deal after row; father says no room for suspicion

Shiv Sena Minister Sanjay Shirsat on Monday said he has asked his son to withdraw from the race to acquire a hotel in Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and dared rival Shiv Sena (UBT)'s leaders, who have alleged irregularity in the deal, to bid for the property.

Shirsat said his son Siddhant and his business partners were supposed to pay Rs 67 crore to buy the hotel located at a prime location in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra, but the transaction was yet to be completed.

Last week, the Social Justice Minister had claimed 75 per cent of the acquisition price will be funded through loans from financial institutions.

"I am asking my son to withdraw from this (process of buying the hotel)," the MLA from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (West) told reporters here.

Last week, Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC Ambadas Danve had alleged irregularity in the multi-crore deal and even questioned the source of money to be used for the transaction. The Leader of Opposition in the state Legislative Council had alleged that the acquisition price of the hotel was undervalued.

Shirsat contested Danve's claims and said the entire process was transparent.

"The amount of Rs 67 crore had to be paid in white and it would have reflected in (financial) record. He (Danve) said the actual cost of the hotel was Rs 110 crore. But tenders were floated seven times for the hotel, but they did not elicit any response. It was then that my son and his business partners participated in the bidding process," the Shiv Sena minister maintained.

He claimed the price of the property was determined by court.

''Let the tendering be done for the eighth time and these people (Sena UBT leaders) bid for it (hotel)," Shirsat added.

Hitting back, Danve on Monday insisted Shirsat should reveal the names of his son's business partners and also disclose when the company representing them in the bidding process was registered.

The opposition legislator, without elaborating, alleged rules were being bent by officials for the hotel deal.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)