New Delhi, Nov 22 (IANS): BJP General Secretary Vinod Tawde, in the midst of storm over cash-for-votes charge, lashed out at the Congress party and accused it of spreading canards and lies for scoring political points in the Assembly elections. He also slapped a legal notice to the Congress top brass including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and Supriya Shrinate, claiming that they were plotting to malign his reputation.

Speaking to IANS, Vinod Tawde said, "A day before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, and spokesperson Supriya Shrinate alleged that I was distributing Rs 5 crore in a hotel in Nalasopara to the voters. These false allegations were made in press conferences and posted on social media platform X."

"However, when the police and the Election Commission investigated, they found no such amount or evidence," he added.

He further criticized the Congress party, stating, "It is Congress's habit to spread lies. As someone who has worked for 40 years and comes from a humble background, such attempts to malign my reputation and my party are unacceptable. That is why I issued a legal notice today, demanding a public apology. If they fail to do so, I will take further legal action."

In the notice, Tawde has asked the Congress leaders to publicly apologize for the defamatory statements or face court proceedings.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi took a jibe at him, the saffron party as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the scandal.

“Modiji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public’s money and sent you in the tempo?" the Lok Sabha LoP said in a post on X.

Congress President Kharge also accused PM Modi of making Maharashtra “SAFE" through 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," he said on X.