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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 leader Vinod Tawde and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. (File)
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) MLA Kshitij 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
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.
