"White lies on white envelopes": BJP's Shehzad Poonawala hits back at Priyanka Gandhi over remarks about PM Modi

Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], October 27 : Coming down heavily on Congress national general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, a day after the Election Commission issued her a show-cause notice over her 'envelope' remarks with regard to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent temple visit in Rajasthan's Dausa, BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Thursday accused the grand old party of "only misleading people with such lies".
The Commission asked Priyanka to respond to the notice by 5 pm on October 30.
In a video statement, Poonawalla alleged that the Congress was peddling "blatant lies", thereby preparing the ground for a new flashpoint between the two parties ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly elections next month.
"Congress, true to its culture, has not only lied to the people of Rajasthan but even when it is going amongst the public it is making false claims and false allegations," Poonawala said in his video address.
The BJP leader said Priyanka's 'lie' about the white envelope in Devnarayan temple, allegedly put by Prime Minister Modi, "was fake news and has been called out now by the Election Commission".
The BJP spokesperson added that the Congress, instead of coming out with report cards for states where it is in power, was resorting to "white lies on white envelopes".
"This is because they have nothing to show...The Congress party only and only misleads people with such lies," Poonawala alleged.
Further railing against the grand old party for "lying" to the country for a very long period of time, the BJP leader added, "They have been lying to the country for a very long period of time. Now in Rajasthan too, they are coming to the people and making blatant lies and blatant claims which the Election Commission and the people of Rajasthan are calling out."
Addressing a Congress event in Rajasthan's Dausa earlier, Priyanka said, "I recently saw something on TV. I don't know if it is true. PM Modi went to the Devnarayan temple and deposited an envelope in the donation box. People were wondering what it contained, but when it was opened Rs 21 came out of it."
Taking cognisance of the matter, the EC sent her a notice for allegedly violating the Model Code of Conduct during the campaign event in Dausa.
"Therefore you are hereby called upon to show cause by 5 pm of October 30, 2023 (Monday) as to why appropriate action for violation of Model Code of Conduct should not be taken against you," the EC notice states.
Earlier, on Wednesday, the BJP had submitted a complaint to the EC saying that the Congress leader made false and unverified allegations.
"Today, we met members of the Election Commission regarding a statement by Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on October 20, marking a violation of the Model Code of Conduct and the Representation of People's Act. We want to ask EC if Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is above the Model Code of Conduct. We demand that the EC takes exemplary action against her," Law Minister Arjun Meghwal said on Thursday.
Rajasthan is set to poll for the Assembly on November 25 and the votes, along with those of four other poll-bound states, would be counted on December 3.