"Action should be taken...": Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray amid 'cash for votes' row

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], November 19 (ANI): Reacting to Bahujan Vikas Aghadi accusing Bharatiya Janata Party's Vinod Tawde of distributing money ahead of Maharashtra polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said that action should be taken based on the evidence.
"Based on the evidence, action should be taken. Otherwise, Maharashtra will take action on its own," Thackeray told reporters.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that EC should have ensured that this is a free and fair election.
"In a raid at Virar hotel, it was found that Vinod Tawde, a senior leader of the BJP, was found distributing cash. There are videos showing cash loads of money which is probably amounting to Rs 5 crores. A diary has also been found which states the names of those who got the money. We are less than 24 hours away from the elections. 48 hours is a silence period. For Vinod Tawde to be in a Virar hotel with cash is pretty evident that they believe that they will win an election by distributing money. We have been maintaining this from day one that the EC should have ensured that this is a free and fair election. The truckloads of money coming from Gujarat and Delhi went unchecked," Chaturvedi said in a self made video.
"The raid is not by the Election Commission but by the people of that constituency...and the rival candidate... The government, the Bharatiya Janata Party has won only because of money. If the EC wants to keep elections free and fair, they need to ensure that BJP also pays a price for this kind of naked distribution of money," she added.
This comes after the workers of Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (BVA) on Tuesday created a ruckus outside a hotel located at Nalasopara assembly constituency in Palghar district alleging the BJP of "distributing money."
The BVA workers created a ruckus outside the Vivanta Hotel in Virar where BJP leader Vinod Tawde was holding a meeting with the party workers. Meanwhile, BVA's Thakur created a ruckus outside the hotel along with his workers and accused the BJP of distributing money.
Notably, Vinod Tawde dismissed the charge levelled by BVA that the BJP was "distributing money" ahead of the upcoming Maharashtra assembly elections.
"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. The workers of the party (Bahujan Vikas Aghadi), Appa Thakur and Kshitij thought that we were distributing money. Let the Election Commission and Police inquire, let them get CCTV footage. I have been in the party for 40 years. Appa Thakur and Kshitij know me, and the entire party knows me. Still, I believe that the Election Commission should conduct an impartial investigation," Tawde said.
The Maharashtra assembly elections are scheduled for November 20. The counting of votes will take place on November 23. (ANI)