Mumbai: Declining allegations that she was involved in illegal Bitcoin transactions to influence the outcome of Maharashtra Assembly elections, Lok Sabha MP and NCP (Sharad Pawar) leader Supriya Sule on Wednesday said the voice in the audio played at a press conference by BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi wasn’t hers.
“Not my voice. All these voice notes and messages are fake,” Sule said after casting her vote. Earlier, Trivedi had played audio clips at a press conference accusing Sule and Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole of conspiring with a former police commissioner and a dealer to indulge in the illegal transactions. The BJO MP had alleged that Sule was involved in such an activity to sway the election outcome to favour the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
The MVA comprises NCP (SP), Congress and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena (UBT).
“The police will find out who the perpetrator is. It is neither my voice nor that of Nana Patole’s,”Sule said, adding that’s he had always spoken against Bitcoin and crypto currency.
“I am very happy to answer them (BJP). I am more than happy because I am somebody who believes in complete transparency… I am very happy to answer any question of the BJP,” the NCP(SP) leader said.
Sule stated that she had faith in the Maharashtra Police to not arrest her based on the allegations raised against her without any proof. She has sent a defamation notice to Trivedi.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar said he knew his sister Supriya Sule’s voice and also supported an inquiry into the allegations. NCP (SP) leader Sharad Pawar backed his daughter and said the BJP was capable of making such baseless allegations.
“The person who made the allegations was in jail for several months and taking that person along and making false allegations, only BJP can do this,” he told reporters.
BJP’s crypto funds charge
Trivedi had sought replies from Supriya Sule and Congress on the alleged audio clips, saying the latest development had ‘unmasked’ the opposition MVA.
“A dealer contacted a former police officer who had been jailed earlier and told him that he (the alleged dealer) wanted to do some transactions of bitcoin in cash. The police officer declined his request. But the dealer tried to convince him as a few ‘big people’ were involved in this matter, and he allegedly took the names of Nana Patole and Supriya Sule. When the police officer didn’t show any trust in this, the dealer sent him the audio clip,” he said, as reported by India Today.