Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024: Congress urges EC to take action against BJP's Vinod Tawde over 'cash-for-votes' allegations

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'ek hai toh safe hei' (if one stands united, then they will be safe) slogan to attack the BJP.

New Delhi: Congress on Tuesday urged Election Commission to immediately intervene and take action on allegations against BJP leader Vinod Tawde that he was distributing cash on the eve of Maharashtra Assembly elections.

High drama prevailed at a hotel in Maharashtra's Virar where Tawde was staying after Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) leader Hitendra Thakur accused the BJP General Secretary of distributing money to voters. They also claimed Tawde was caught redhanded with money while BJP denied the allegations.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi used Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'ek hai toh safe hai' (if one stands united, then they will be safe) slogan to attack the BJP.

Rahul said, "Modi-ji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public's money and sent you in the tempo?" He had on Monday displayed a 'safe' during a press conference in Mumbai claiming that both Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani are safe together.

On his part, Kharge said, "Modi-ji wants to make Maharashtra "SAFE" with "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! This is not the ideology of Maharashtra, the public will answer this by voting tomorrow!"

From its official handle, Congress posted on 'X', "...Tawde has been caught distributing money in a hotel in Maharashtra...Tawde had taken the money in a bag and was calling people there and distributing the money. When the public came to know about this news, there was a huge uproar...Voting is about to take place in Maharashtra, just before that BJP leaders are busy influencing the elections using money."

Addressing a press conference, Congress Social Media and Digital Platforms chairperson Supriya Shrinate demanded that the Election Commission should probe the matter while claiming that the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had not audited several contentious projects of Maharashtra government in the last ten years.

"The Election Commission should take action. This is the character and face of 'Mahayuti'. This is the reality of Narendra Modi, BJP and their allied parties...This undermines the vote of Maharashtra, this undermines, the people of Maharashtra and Maharashtra will not take this lying down,," she said.

Shrinate alleged that Tawde was roaming around distributing money, which were amassed through various projects, and the source of this money could have been revealed if there was a CAG audit.

Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls will take place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP will be going up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress try to make their mark. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faces a new challenge after Hemant Soren's recent arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP. The Haryana election resulted in a shock loss for Congress, which was looking to galvanize on the Lok Sabha poll performance, while J&K also saw the grand old party eventually stepping away from the cabinet, with Omar Abdullah's JKNC forming government. It remains to be seen if the upcoming polls help BJP cement its position further or provide a fillip to I.N.D.I.A. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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