Speaking to journalists about demonetisation at his home in Kota in Rajasthan on Tuesday, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Bhawani Singh Rajawat seemed to confirm what many feared. “Adani, Ambani and others knew about it beforehand. They had been given a hint and they made arrangements accordingly,” he said.

However, on Wednesday, Rajawat denied making the comments. “I did not say any of those things being shown in the video,” he said. Contradicting himself, the MLA elected from Ladpura told The Indian Express that the conversation was “off-the-record” and that his comments had been “distorted”.

In the video, he can also be heard criticising the implementation of the policy. “First you should have printed the new currency as per requirement. But like announcements of changes in petrol prices, you announced that Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 are invalid from midnight,” he said.

The MLA’s comments captured on video lend credence to reports of disquiet within the BJP. A committee set up by BJP President Amit Shah to assess the public mood on demonetisation reported back that the decision could boomerang for the government if the situation is not normalised within the next few days.