LUCKNOW: Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav on Saturday termed demonetisation as the "biggest corruption" in the world.

Speaking to reporters at the party office in Lucknow, Yadav said, "Demonetisation done by the BJP government (in 2016) is the biggest corruption in the world. To compensate for the fraud and loss of Rs 15 lakh crore in the country, this government (of the BJP) had taken the decision of demonetisation as a well-thought-out strategy." 

"The government got all the money of the public deposited in the banks. (It) took the money of the poor to fill the coffers of the rich. The prime minister had said that demonetisation would end corruption and terrorism..Inflation will be reduced. But his claims proved to be false. Even after demonetisation, corruption did not reduce, inflation did not stop and terrorism did not end. Today, inflation, unemployment and corruption are at their peak in the country," he said.

The SP chief further said, "As per statistics, even today, the cash market in the country is Rs 33 lakh crore. Even today, most people are doing transactions in cash instead of digital (mode). Land and (other) major things are being bought in cash."

He also pointed out the corruption regarding land registration in Ayodhya. "Everyone saw that large-scale cash transactions and corruption took place in the registration and purchase of lands. People from the BJP were involved in the registration of lands in Ayodhya."

Supporting the demands of the women employees working in the Dial 112 Response System, Yadav said, "We will raise this demand on the very first day of the Assembly session. Our first question would be why did the BJP destroy Dial 112?"

He said that the BJP government is emotionless, heartless and visionless.

"It is taking advantage of poverty. The women working in Dial 112 are getting threatened with being fired from their jobs. Sisters and daughters are being harassed during festive days," he said.

"Does the government not have enough budget to increase the salary of the women who help the people of the state by Rs 3,000?" he asked.

Elaborating on the protests of the women working in Dial 112, SP's chief spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told PTI, "During the 2022 UP Assembly elections, the BJP had promised that it would raise the salary of these women by Rs 3,000. However, that promise was not kept."

The SP chief said that if his party is voted to power, it will increase their salary by Rs 6,000; even if the women are demanding that their salaries be increased by Rs 3,000.

Yadav also said, "In the Samajwadi government, we had given the Response System UP Dial 100 to the Uttar Pradesh Police. For that, police officers were sent to New York and Singapore. After getting the complete information about the way the New York Police works, a response system was made in the state, and it was given to the police so that the people of the state can get help from the police as soon as possible."

"We had created the Dial 100 system at a time when the police did not have vehicles, and petrol and diesel were not available for commuting. At such a time, an excellent response system was made and given to the police. The BJP government ruined the Dial 100 police service by making it (Dial) 112. Today, the police have become the most corrupt. Every police station is sold. The BJP government wants to make incidents like Deoria happen in the entire state," Yadav said.

The SP chief was referring to the October 2 incident in Deoria in which six people, including five of a family, were killed in violence arising out of a land dispute in a village.

Former district panchayat member Prem Yadav was attacked with sharp-edged weapons and killed by his rival Satyaprakash Dubey and his family.

In retaliation, Yadav's supporters attacked Dubey's house and killed Dubey and five of his family.

Referring to the Agniveer scheme, the SP chief said, "The BJP government has cheated the youth by bringing the Agniveer Yojana (scheme). Advantage is being taken of the poverty of the poor. Agniveer Yojana is a half-baked job (aadhee-adhuree naukree). Whenever the Samajwadi Party will get a chance in the future, we will end the Agniveer Yojana and provide full employment in the Army like it was earlier."

The birthday of 'Khajanchi' was also celebrated at the Samajwadi Party office.

The SP said in a statement that a woman standing in a queue to exchange currency notes during demonetisation gave birth to a baby. Akhilesh Yadav had named the baby 'Khajanchi'.

Khajanchi's birthday was celebrated in advance due to the upcoming elections in five states, the party said.

"The responsibility of celebrating Khajanchi's birthday is that of the BJP, which the SP is doing," he said.