Bettiah: Senior RJD leader Raghuvansh Prasad Singh on Tuesday said there was a deep-rooted conspiracy behind the cash crunch in ATMs and demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi be placed under arrest. Else, the former Union minister alleged, Modi would escape with all the currency available with the banks.

"The introduction of a larger denomination of Rs 2,000 has only given a boost to black money in the country. Banks are marred by huge mismanagement and I understand Prime Minister Narendra Modi would escape with all the money like Marcos (read Philippines leader Ferdinand Marcos). So he should be placed under arrest," he said speaking to mediapersons at Chiraiyya in East Champaran on Tuesday late evening.

Raghuvansh's outburst came during a private event organised by former RJD MLA Laxmi Narayan Yadav.

On the Election Commission's threat of derecognising the RJD for not submitting its 2014-15 audit report, Raghuvansh's said: "The Election Commission is asking for the report from a poor party like the RJD but not from the BJPwhich has bought land in almost every district of the country."

Bettiah MP and BJP state vice-president Sanjay Jaiswal directed his salvo at Raghuvansh asking him to explain under whose regime banks sanctioned loans without security.

"Who were at the helm of the affairs in UPA 1 and UPA-2? Isn't it his government which preferred to ignore the laid-down rules. He (Raghuvansh) should steer clear instead of confusing the matter and targeting a popular and workaholic Prime Minister of our country," said Sanjay.

The BJP state vice-president, however, held the RBI responsible for the cash crunch and said the institution should act sensibly.