NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi after senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde was caught in “cash-for-votes” row on the eve of Maharashtra assembly elections. An FIR has been lodged against Tawde after Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) chief Hitendra Thakur accused the BJP national general secretary of distributing money to voters in Palghar.
Rahul reacted sharply to the controversy and used it to continue with his digs at PM Modi’s “ek hain to safe hain” poll pitch. “Modiji, from whose ‘SAFE’ did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public’s money and sent you in the tempo?” the Congress leader posted on X.
The Congress leader had on Monday mocked PM’s ‘Ek hai toh safe hai’ poll pitch and claimed there was a link between the slogan and the Dharavi redevelopment project being given to the Adani Group.
Rahul had brought a metal safe at the press conference and pulled out two posters from it. One poster featured a picture of industrialist Gautam Adani and PM Modi with the caption “Ek hai toh Safe hai,” and another showed a map of the project.
The “Ek hai toh safe hai” slogan primarily serves to help Adani acquire Rs one lakh crore worth of land through the Dharavi redevelopment project, he had alleged.
Tawde responded to Congress leader’s jab and invited him to Nalasopara to check the CCTV footage himself and prove the allegation “cash-for-votes”
Taking to X, Tawde said, “Rahul Gandhi ji, you yourself come to Nalasopara, see the CCTV footage of the hotel, see the entire proceedings of the Election Commission held there and prove that the money came in this manner.”
“If making such a statement without any information isn’t childishness then what is?” he added.
‘Baatenge aur jitenge’
Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray also took a “note jihad” jibe at BJP and demanded strict action by the Election Commission.
Uddhav said that merely merely registering a case against Tawde won’t suffice.
“Is this BJP’s note jihad (for votes)? ‘Baatenge aur jitenge’ (will distribute cash to win). Entire Maharashtra has seen it (a video showing bundles of cash). Maharashtra will decide tomorrow,” Thackeray told reporters, taking a swipe at the ‘Batenge toh Katenge’ (divided we fall) slogan raised by UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath and “vote Jihad” claims.
“Tawde was lauded for toppling governments in some states and helping to form new ones. Now the secret behind this has come out in the open,” he added.
Tawde denies any wrongdoing, BJP alleges conspiracy
Meanwhile, Tawde vehemently denied any wrongdoings and said that “everything is on the record in full public and media view plus the CCTV cameras of the hotel”. The BJP claimed that allegations against its senior leader were baseless and alleged a conspiracy by a “desperate” opposition ahead of tomorrow’s voting.
“A meeting of MLAs of Nalasopara was underway. I went there to tell them about the Model Code of Conduct for the day of voting, how will voting machines be sealed, and how to go about if an objection has to be made. The workers of the party (Bahujan Vikas Aghadi), Appa Thakur and Kshitij thought that we were distributing money. Let the Election Commission and Police inquire, let them get CCTV footage. I have been in the party for 40 years. Appa Thakur and Kshitij know me, and the entire party knows me. Still, I believe that the Election Commission should conduct an impartial investigation,” Tawde said.
BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi came out in Tawde’s support and termed the allegations baseless. “Vinod Tawde is our national secretary and is looking after several functions of the party … The candidate of the (Nalasopara) constituency asked him to attend the meeting. He was passing from nearby, so he agreed. Such meetings are done to instruct the party workers regarding the polling process. We insist that the CCTV of the hotel and the nearby areas be checked… Rs. 5 crores cannot be brought in a pocket. It would be visible if someone were carrying it… They should show proof and not make baseless allegations,” he said.