BJP questions BSP as Rs 104 cr deposited in party's account after note ban

ED also detected Rs 1.43 crore in an account belonging to Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday asked the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to come clean after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) detected cash deposits totalling over Rs 104 crore in an account belonging to Mayawati-led party and said that this matter should not be politicised as it is the fight against black money.

BJP spokesperson G V L Narsimhan Rao said any money deposited in bank accounts in excess of the acceptable amounts will certainly be looked into by the Enforcement agencies.

"So, if more than 100 crore has been deposited in BSP's accounts, the party will possibly have to provide answers as to what is the source of this money. The Enforcement agencies fear that a lot of unaccounted money, illegitimate money, money from which taxes have not been paid is being laundered into different accounts," Rao said.

"So, whether it's a political leader or a political party, they will be expected to provide source of such money that possibly is the angle that the Enforcement Directorate would be looking at. We should allow all the Enforcement agencies to do their job," he added.

The Enforcement Directorate also detected Rs 1.43 crore in an account belonging to Mayawati's brother Anand Kumar.

Meanwhile, another BJP leader Nalin Kohli said that the BSP has nothing to fear if they have explanations for the money deposited in their accounts.

"If Mayawati ji's brother has an explanation, has a business, has a lot of money, has a lot of cash and he can explain that this is how it has come into my account then there is no issue," said Kohli.

"But if the money is coming from unknown companies with whom he has no relations then obviously it's going to be a matter of investigation," he added.

Kohli further said this is not a political issue but the fight against black money.

"Whether it is an ordinary person or whether it is the highest and the most mighty, anyone who has cash and deposits money or brings large sums of money into their accounts without explaining the source and the reasons has to be investigated," said Kohli.

"So, this can't be seen as a political issue, this has to be seen in the fight against black money. And if they have explanations, they have nothing to fear," he added.

As per reports, the accounts had been detected in a branch of the United Bank of India (UBI) in the national capital.

The Enforcement Directorate has reportedly sought details about the accounts from the bank. The agency has also asked the bank to provide it some CCTV footage and the KYC documents used to open the accounts.

This has come as a major setback to the BSP chief ahead of next year's Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls.