Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary and former Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde has slapped a ₹100-crore defamation notice against Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Supriya Shrinate for their posts on social media alleging that he was caught distributing ₹5 crore to voters a day ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
The Tulinj police in Vasai-Virar area filed cases against Tawde in connection with the alleged incident and violation of the election code of conduct.
After the controversy at a Nallasopara hotel on November 19, Congress president Kharge, Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi and party spokesperson Srinate took to social media to slam Tawde and the BJP.
Within hours, Gandhi in his post on X said, “Modiji, whose ‘safe’ did these ₹5 crore come from? Who looted public money and sent you in a tempo?”
Kharge, too, in his post on X, stated, “Modiji want to make Maharashtra ‘safe’ with the help of money and muscle power. On one hand a former home minister (Anil Deshmukh) is attacked and on the other, a senior BJP leader is caught red handed with ₹5 crore. This is not the ideology of Maharashtra and the voters in Maharashtra will give you the befitting reply.”
In the notice sent through a legal firm, Tawde has termed the allegations “baseless, false, malicious and malafide imputations”, and served the defamation notice under section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
He has also asked the three leaders to tender unconditional apology by publishing it on the front page of three newspapers in English, three in Hindi and Marathi, as well as on social media platform X, within 24 hours. “…On failure of which, a criminal action would be initiated against you under section 356 of BNS for punishing you with imprisonment of 2 years. Also, civil proceedings will be initiated for the damages of ₹100 crore against you in proper court of law,” Tawde’s notice read.
“I have filed a defamation case against Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, and their party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate for their baseless allegations in the Nallasopara case. Despite their attempts to tarnish my image and that of the BJP, the truth is clear — the alleged ₹5 crore was never recovered in the investigation by the Election Commission and the police. This case exposes the Congress’s low-level politics and their desperate attempts to mislead the nation. The BJP stands tall, backed by truth and the people’s trust!” the BJP leader said in a post on social media.