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Vinod Tawde was accused of attempting to bribe voters on the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, sparking a political storm.
BJP’s Tawde accused Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge of making ‘false and baseless’ allegations. (PTI)
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Vinod Tawde on Friday sent a Rs 100 crore defamation notice to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge and Supriya Shrinate over accusations of attempting to bribe voters, which both he and the BJP firmly rejected.
The cash-for-vote row created a political storm on the eve of the Maharashtra Assembly elections as the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) chief Hitendra Thakur accused Tawde of distributing cash in an attempt to woo voters.
“Kharge, Gandhi and Shrinate said Vinod Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5 crores which he was distributing to voters. They just wanted to defame me and my party. I am seriously hurt. I come from a regular middle-class family. I have never done anything like that in the last 40 years, I have been in politics. Congress leaders wanted to defame me, party and my leaders so they purposefully told these lies to the media and people, hence I have issued a court notice to them that they should apologise publicly or face the action,” he told news agency ANI.
#WATCH | Delhi: BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde says, ” On the eve of Maharashtra Assembly elections, 19th November, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and party spokesperson Supriya said that Vinod Tawde was caught red-handed with Rs 5… pic.twitter.com/9YltGsPr8f— ANI (@ANI) November 22, 2024
‘Allegations Baseless, Mala Fide’: Tawde
In his notice, Tawde accused the Congress leaders of making false and baseless accusations of money distribution “with the sole intention of damaging the prospects of the party” and himself. He also criticised them for not checking the facts before levelling these allegations and failing to perform their duties as office bearers of the Congress party.
“The entire imputation made by you all are totally false, baseless, malicious and mala fide,” the notice read, adding that Tawde was not involved in any such illegal activity and was aware of his duties as a responsible office bearer of a national political party.
Tawde demanded an unconditional apology from Gandhi, Kharge and Shrinate within 24 hours, failing to do which would initiate criminal proceedings.
What Did Kharge And Rahul Gandhi Say?
As the controversy erupted, Rahul Gandhi joined in to take a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the saffron party. “Modiji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public’s money and sent you in the tempo?” the Lok Sabha LoP said in a post on X.
मोदी जी, यह 5 करोड़ किसके SAFE से निकला है? जनता का पैसा लूटकर आपको किसने Tempo में भेजा? https://t.co/Dl1CzndVvl— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 19, 2024
Congress President Kharge also accused PM Modi of making Maharashtra “SAFE” through money power and muscle power. “On one hand, there is a deadly attack on the former Home Minister of the state, on the other hand, a senior BJP leader is caught red-handed with Rs 5 crore in cash,” he said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also joined the bandwagon, accusing the BJP, its allies and the “Mahajhoothi Sarkar” of misusing power and resources to woo voters.
मोदी जी महाराष्ट्र को “Money Power” और “Muscle Power” से “SAFE” बनाना चाहते हैं !एक तरफ़ राज्य के पूर्व गृहमंत्री पर जानलेवा हमला होता है, दूसरी तरफ़ भाजपा के वरिष्ठ नेता 5 करोड़ कैश के साथ रंगे हाथों पकड़े जाते हैं !
महाराष्ट्र की विचारधारा ये नहीं है, जनता इसका कल मतदान कर…
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) November 19, 2024
About The Cash-For-Vote Row
Hitendra Thakur’s accusations against Tawde of allegedly distributing cash to woo voters at the Vivanta Hotel in Virar, Palghar district, ahead of the polling for Maharashtra assembly elections, triggered an uproar with strong reactions from several political parties.
“Some BJP leaders informed me that BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde is coming to Virar to disburse Rs 5 crore to influence voters. I thought a national leader like him would not stoop to such a trivial task. But I saw him here. I urge the Election Commission to take action against him and the BJP,” Thakur said.
The Election Commission seized a total of Rs 9,53,900 in cash from the hotel where Tawde was staying and sealed the premises amid protests by the BVA workers demanding Tawde’s immediate arrest. Police said three FIRs have been filed so far at the Tulinj police station over the violation of Model Code of Conduct, alleged cash-for-vote scam, and illegal press conference by BVA and BJP.
The BJP supported Tawde, with spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi accusing the MVA of making a “baseless allegation” as a last attempt ahead of the Maharashtra election.
