Rahul Gandhi takes ’tempo’ jibe at PM Modi over cash-for-votes row in poll-bound Maharashtra – ’from whose SAFE did…’

Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi took a ‘tempo’ jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday after Vinod Tawde, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary, was caught in a political row over allegedly distributing money for votes in poll-bound Maharashtra.

“Modiji, from whose SAFE did these 5 crores come? Who looted the public's money and sent you in the tempo,” Gandhi, the leader of oppostion (LoP) in Lok Sabha wrote in Hindi on X.

Gandhi wrote the remarks quote-tweeting a post by Congress party saying Tawde being ‘caught distributing money’ in a hotel in Maharashtra. “Voting is about to take place in Maharashtra, just before that BJP leaders are busy influencing the elections using money,” the Congress post on X said

Tawde found himself at the centre of a political row after chaos was seen erupting at a hotel near Mumbai on Tuesday as members of the Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (VBA) accused BJP leader Vinod Tawde of distributing money.

Reports quoted Election Commission saying that ₹9.93 lakh have been recovered from the hotel rooms (of Tawde).

BVA MLA Kshitij Thakur and his workers claimed to have recovered envelops with money and discovered diaries at the site. He and fellow party leader Hitendra Thakur said that the CCTV of Vivanta Hotel in Palghar had been blocked.

"Some BJP leaders informed me that BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde is coming to Virar to disburse ₹5 crore to influence voters. I thought a national leader like him would not stoop to such a trivial task. But I saw him here. I urge the Election Commission to take action against him and the BJP," Thakur told reports.

The incident comes hours before elections to 288-member Maharashtra Assembly are sheduled to take place.

BJP Denies

The contest in Maharashtra is between two alliances – the Mayayuti and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), is in alliance with Ajit Pawar-led NCP and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena in the ruling Mahayutibanner. The opposition MVA alliance comprises the Shiv Sena (UBT), the NCP (Sharad Pawar) and the Congress party.

The BJP has denied the claims, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) accused it of misusing government machinery and engaging in corrupt practices. Tawde, however, asserted that he was in Nalasopara to provide guidance regarding election procedures and challenged the opposition parties to verify his activities.

The Tempo Jibe

Rahul Gandhi’s ‘tempo’ jibe made it to the political blame game for the first time during the Lok Sabha elections 2024 when the Congress MP responded to PM Narendra Modi's accusations that Congress received ‘tempo loads of black money’ from Adani-Ambani. Gandhi had earlier dared Modi to hold a probe by the CBI or ED to see if the two businessmen have indeed sent his party ‘money in a tempo.’

The 'safe' jibe is perhaps directed at Modi's ‘ek hai to safe hai’ slogan in poll-bound Maharashtra.

"Vinod Tawde is not an ordinary worker but national general secretary of BJP. Why was he in a hotel in Virar East? A bag and ₹5 crores in cash was recovered from him. Is this not a way to influence elections? He needs to answer why he had ₹5 crores with him. Vinod Tawde needs to say why was he distributing money?," Congress leader Supriya Shrinate told news agency ANI.

The row comes a day after, poll panel said that cash, liquor and drugs worth ₹858 crores were seized across Maharashtra and Jharkhand, which is seven times the seizures done during the assembly elections in these two states in 2019, the poll panel said.