Who is footing hotel bills in Guwahati, Surat, asks NCP; says IT dept, ED should find source of 'black money'

Amid the political crisis in Maharashtra triggered by a rebellion by a large section of Shiv Sena MLAs, who are currently camping in Assam, the NCP on Saturday sought to know who was paying the bills of hotels in Guwahati and Surat.

The Sharad Pawar-led party, which shares power with Sena and Congress in the state, also asked the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to find out the source of "black money" involved.

NCP's chief spokesperson Mahesh Tapase asked, "Who is paying the bills of hotels in Surat and Guwahati as well as the chartered flight? Is it true that the horse trading rate is Rs 50 crore?"

"If ED and IT get activated, the source of the black money will be exposed," he added.

Some Shiv Sena MLAs have shifted their loyalty to minister Eknath Shinde and are camping in Guwahati, plunging the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who heads the Sena, into a crisis. Before a hotel in Guwahati became the base of the rebel MLAs, Shinde and several other legislators had also stayed at a hotel in Surat.