Cash-for-votes row: BJP leader Vinod Tawde issues defamation notice against Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Vinod Tawde has issued a defamation notice against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party's spokesperson Supriya Shrinate following their allegations that he was distributing money to voters ahead of Maharashtra assembly polls, Hindustan Times reported.  

A day before voting in Maharashtra, a video of Vinod Tawde allegedly distributing money to voters at a hotel in Maharashtra's Palghar district surfaced online, triggering an immense ruckus in the state. 

As per the HT report, Tawde's lawyer has sent a legal notice to the Congress leaders, asking them to apologise or they would be sued for ₹100 crore. The BJP leader has sought their unconditional apology, with a warning that he will file criminal and civil cases against them for defaming him, news agency PTI reported.

Notably, after the purported clip went viral, Rahul Gandhi took a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking,"Modiji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public's money and sent you in the tempo?"

Mallikarjun Kharge also attacked the Prime Minister, claiming that "Modiji wants to make Maharashtra 'SAFE' with 'Money Power' and 'Muscle Power'. 

"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!", he wrote in a post on 'X'. 

Vinod Tawde denied allegations 

After the BJP landed into controversies right before the voting day, Vinod Tawde denied the allegations and said, "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."