Named in report, Maharashtra netas deny having accounts

Former Maharashtra CM Narayan Rane on Monday described as false and baseless a report saying he, his wife Neelam and son, former Lok Sabha member Neelesh Rane, have a foreign bank account with huge deposits.

"The information is false and baseless. Neither I nor any of my family members have accounts in foreign banks. It appears to be a political conspiracy to defame me and the Congress too," Rane told TOI. Rane said he has sought legal opinion on the entire episode. "I am shocked and surprised over the media report. I have sought opinion from my lawyers. Once I re ceive the legal advice, I will act accordingly ."

As per the reports, besides the members of the Rane family , names of son of former Union minister VP Sathe and the daughter-inlaw of a leading politician also figure in the list.

Dr Uday Bodhankar, son-in-law of late VP Sathe, said, "As far as I know, there is no account or black money ever by late Shri Bapusaheb Sathe in his whole lifetime in India or abroad."

A former Shiv Sena member, Rane joined Congress in June 2006 on the assurance of being elevated as the CM, but over a decade he has been completely ignored. In the LS polls, his son Neelesh was defeated by Shiv Sena nominee Vinayak Raut, while Rane himself lost the assembly polls by a huge margin.