Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday, 28 December, denied any links between the party and Piyush Jain, the perfume trader embroiled in the biggest cash seizures by the Income Tax department in recent history.
The leader also sneered at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had raided "its own businessman by mistake," NDTV reported.
Later in the day, PM Modi also cast aspersions at the Samajwadi Party and without naming anyone, said that the 'perfume of corruption that they had sprinkled all over Uttar Pradesh is for everyone to see.'
As the political war of words ensued, Amit Shah, too had attacked Yadav over the issue and said, "The A, B, C, D of Samajwadi Party is itself all wrong where 'A' is for 'Apraadh aur Aatank' (crime and terrorism), 'B' is for 'Bhaai-Bhatijaavaad' (nepotism), 'C' for 'Corruption' aur 'D' means 'Dangaa' (riots)," news agency PTI quoted.
What Yadav Said
Denying the involvement of his party in the controversy surrounding the seizure of cash, he stated, "Raids (on businessman Piyush Jain's houses & establishments in Kanpur) not linked with Samajwadi Party at all. This incident shows that demonetisation has failed. Officials who conducted raids may tell sources of recovered newly printed Rs 2,000 notes," ANI quoted.
The SP chief also addressed reporters and alleged that that Piyush Jain's call records would reveal the names of several BJP leaders who were in touch with him, NDTV reported.
"By mistake, the BJP got its own businessman raided. Instead of Samajwadi Party leader Pushpraj Jain, it got Piyush Jain raided" he reportedly added.
What Modi Said
Modi also attacked Yadav's party over the seizure of cash amounting to hundreds of crores of rupees from a Kanpur-based businessman and iterated that it reflected the “achievement and reality” of the opposition party.
"Boxes filled with notes that have come out, I was thinking they will say that this was also done by us. The people of Kanpur understand business and trade well. Before 2017, the perfume of corruption that they had sprinkled all over Uttar Pradesh is there for everyone to see."PM Modi, as per PTI
Modi's comments came during his visit to Kanpur, where he was inaugurating a metro project.
He added that now the SP has their mouths shut.
"They are not coming forward to take credit for the mountain of currency notes seen by the entire country. This is their achievement and their reality. The people of Uttar Pradesh are seeing and understanding everything," Modi added, as per PTI.
(With inputs from PTI and ANI)
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