BJP accuses Samajwadi Party of inciting violence at ATMs, banks

This comes amid reports of incidents of disorder and fight among people as they wait in long queues to get currency notes

BJP on Sunday accused the ruling Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh of conspiring to incite violence as people wait in queues outside banks and ATMs, alleging that it wants the central government's ambitious demonetisation exercise to fail ahead of the assembly elections.

It has also asked the UP government to cooperate in efforts to transport currency notes across the state from its capital Lucknow and warned of "serious consequences" if it uses official machinery, including police, to spark violence.

BJP's attack on the SP comes amid reports of incidents of disorder and fight among people as they wait in long queues to get currency notes, resulting in the police using force in parts of the state.

BJP national secretary Shrikant Sharma said people across the country, including UP, have supported demonetisation despite facing hardships, as it has dealt a blow to black money, corruption and fake currency.

"Things are slowing improving, queues are getting shorter as more currency notes are being pumped into the financial system. Difficulty remains in some places but people are supporting the central government. The SP government is looking to incite violence using police.

"Demonetisation is not against a political party and we expect the Akhilesh Yadav government to not incite people into violence by using police. If it does anything of this sort, then it will have to pay serious consequences," he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has sought a 50-day period for the difficulties faced by the people to be over and things will pan out accordingly, Sharma said.

A high-voltage political campaign around note ban and involving all key parties is unfolding in the poll-bound state with the SP, BSP and Congress trying to corner BJP over hardships faced by the people.

The saffron party on the other hand has cited it as an evidence of the Modi government towards ending black money as it seeks to garner people's support to return to power in the state after a gap of 15 years.