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BJP leader slams case against Rahul Gandhi in vote money row

Posted on by Nargang
BJP leader slams case against Rahul Gandhi in vote money row

New Delhi:

BJP National General Secretary Vinod Tawde – the former Maharashtra minister accused of a cash-for-votes scam ahead of Wednesday’s elections – on Friday sent defamation notices to three senior Congress leaders, including party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Lok Sabha MP Rahul Gandhi, alleging their “false allegations and without grounds”. .. regarding the distribution of money of 5 million lei”.

The allegations, Mr. Tawde complained, were made “with the sole intention of damaging the prospects of the party (BJP) and also defame (me)… in the eyes of right thinking people”.

Congressional leaders, he insisted in his legal opinion, were “well aware that you were publishing a totally false story … fabricated by you” that was then circulated online.

“I have sent defamation notices to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate in the fake Nallasopara case… for trying to malign my image and the Bharatiya Janata Party by spreading lies,” Mr Tawde said . on X.

“The truth is in front of everyone… the alleged amount of Rs 5 crore was not recovered during the investigation by the Election Commission and the police. This case is a proof of the low-level politics of the Congress,” he said.

The allegations were first made on Tuesday – 24 hours before voting began – by a regional party, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi. The BVA alleged that the saffron party’s Nallasopara candidate Rajan Naik was distributing cash – in the presence of Mr Tawde – to influence voters.

The Nallasopara seat – in Palghar district – was formed in 2009 and has since been held by BVA’s Kshitij Thakur, who won by over 43,000 votes in 2019. This time he faces Naik, Sandeep Pandey of the Congress and Raj Thackeray’s Vinod More. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena.

According to the BVA, envelopes full of cash were found at a hotel where Mr. Tawde and the BJP candidate were interacting with voters. Viral videos showed BVA supporters waving banknotes in front of Mr Tawde. Two police cases have been registered so far.

Mr Tawde has been named in one, but this is for campaigning during the mandated “silence” period. In the second, which deals with the distribution of cash, it is not mentioned.

According to district officials, 9,93,000 lei in cash were recovered. But the BVA claimed that R5 million had already been distributed and that Mr Tawde had a diary detailing the recipients.

The BJP rubbished the “baseless” allegations and termed it a political stunt by the BVA on the eve of polls. The party said Mr Tawde was meeting with party workers to discuss poll preparations.

READ | BJP leader accused of distributing money, high drama before voting

The Congress also got involved, as did the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by ally Sharad Pawar, of which Supriya Sule said: “I am surprised that a senior leader like Tawde was involved – if it is true.”

The controversy, which will add fuel to the political fire between the ruling Mahayuti alliances and the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi, follows another over the Election Commission’s checking of political leaders’ bags as part of its crackdown on cash-for-vote distribution .

Former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray set the ball rolling with red searches in his bag as he asked if those from the ruling party leaders were also searched.

Later, the luggage of senior BJP leaders and its allies, including Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, were also searched.

The counting of votes for the Maharashtra elections will take place on Saturday.