Lucknow (PTI): BJP men are involved in protests against controversial film ‘Padmaavat’, Samajwadi party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged on Thursday, holding the saffron party responsible for the violence before the release of the movie.

“On the one hand, they (BJP) are protesting, and on the other they are pretending to control the situation arising out of the protests,” Yadav told reporters.

“Please go through the CCTV camera footage of protests in the state capital and you will know who are behind the protests,” he said, blaming the BJP for “vitiating the atmosphere” in the country.

Senior Samajwadi Party leader and Leader of Opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council, Ahmed Hasan, on Wednesday claimed that the controversy had been whipped up by the BJP.

“It is a part of the BJP’s conspiracy to divert the attention of common man from burning issues,” he said.

Hasan said the Yogi Adityanath government had failed to maintain law and order; he sought the intervention of Governor Ram Naik in improving the situation in the state.

In UP, an alert has been sounded and all district police chiefs have been asked to remain vigilant.

Taking precautionary measures, ADG (Law and Order) Anand Kumar has directed all district police chiefs to ensure that the force remained alert, especially at all malls and cinema halls with anti-riot gear keeping in view the protests against the movie by some organisations.