The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday (November 19, 2024) dismissed as baseless the cash-distribution charges levelled against its national general secretary Vinod Tawde, accusing a “frustrated” Maha Vikas Aghadi of making last ditch attempts to confuse voters and influence the elections in the face of an imminent defeat.
Targeting the rival parties, BJP MP and national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said it was the 1993 case, in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MPs were bribed to ensure the survival of the then Congress-led government during a no-confidence vote in the Lok Sabha, which had established who all were indeed involved in cash-for-vote transactions.
At a press conference, Mr. Trivedi said there was no evidence whatsoever of cash distribution at the hotel where an in-door meeting of the BJP workers was being held in the Nalasopara Assembly constituency. “Closed-circuit television cameras are installed at the hotel, their footage should be checked. They are also making a false allegation about ₹5 crore in cash, of which there is not even an iota of proof,” he said.
Stating that the meeting followed the relevant rules, Mr. Trivedi said the First Information Report registered in the matter was related to the suspected Model Code of Conduct violation and it nowhere mentioned about the allegation of any cash distribution.
The BJP leader said the allegations, coupled with certain mysterious incidents of violence in Maharashtra - apparently a reference to the attack on Nationalist Congress Party’s Anil Deshmukh, - “fatwas (rulings)” by Islamic scholars, and the “pressure being mounted on the Election Commission to allow voting without checking identification documents”, were a reflection of how desperate attempts were being made to influence the voters.
“In the constituency where the so-called incident took place, Congress is not even in the contest and still it has been raising hue and cry,” he said, claiming that Mr. Tawde being a senior functionary of the party was also overseeing the organisation-related works and was, therefore, interacting with the candidates over phone.
“The BJP candidate from the same constituency (Nalasopara) requested him to attend the meeting at the hotel if possible. As the venue was close to the highway, Mr. Tawde reached there...,” Mr. Trivedi said. He also raised doubt as to why the candidate of an opponent party went to the place where the meeting of BJP workers was under way.
The leaders and workers of Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi have alleged that cash was brought to the hotel for distribution ahead of the polls on Wednesday.
Published - November 19, 2024 08:54 pm IST
