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Informist, Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024

NEW DELHI – A day before polling for the 288-member legislative assembly in Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party General Secretary Vinod Tawde was accused by a regional party of distributing cash to influence voters at a hotel in Virar near Mumbai.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Pournima Chougule, of the Mira-Bhayander Vasai-Virar police, told reporters that some money and a few diaries were recovered from the spot. Two first information reports were registered over the allegation of cash distribution and one first information report was registered for holding a press conference illegally, she said. According to reports, around INR 1 million were recovered from Tawde's room in the hotel.

Workers of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi, a party based in the Vasai-Virar area, alleged that Tawde was caught red-handed with cash. A video surfaced on social media showing an altercation between the BJP leader and the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi workers, who surrounded him at the hotel and accused him of soliciting votes by distributing cash. The video was shared by the Congress party on its X handle. The party said Tawde had carried the money in a bag and was calling people there to distribute it.

Opposition parties slammed the BJP. The Congress demanded action against Tawde and alleged that he was caught with INR 50 million in cash, besides a diary with details of transactions amounting to INR 150 million. "Modiji, from whose SAFE did these INR 50 million come? Who looted the public’s money and sent you in the tempo,” Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Supriya Shrinate, head of the Congress social media team, said no outside political leader could stay in another area after campaigning has stopped, and hoped the Election Commission of India would not look the other way this time.

Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Supriya Sule said it was shocking that a national leader of a big party was caught distributing money. "This is very dangerous for democracy," the member of Parliament from Baramati said at a press conference. "If people want to get elected by distributing money, what should people like us do? Is there morality in this country or not? I publicly condemn this act, and it should be investigated."

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Uddhav Thackeray called the incident an example of the BJP’s “note jihad”. "This is BJP’s note jihad, it is like distributing money and winning. Now we have to see what the Election Commission does. It should not end by merely registering a case, there should be action," Thackeray said.

The BJP tried to shrug off the charges as baseless. Spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi was making a desperate attempt to influence the electoral atmosphere by making absurd accusations. He said Tawde was passing through the Nallasopara area to meet candidates to check on readiness for polling day.

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule termed the accusations a conspiracy by the Opposition to tarnish the party’s image before polling day. “One needs to think if a man in such a position will go around distributing money,” Bawankule said.  End

Reported by Kuldeep Singh

Edited by Rajeev Pai

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