Chandigarh, Oct 6 (PTI) Shortly after the CBI conducted raids at multiple locations including the camp office of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, AAP leaders and Cabinet ministers on Tuesday called out the BJP-led Centre for allegedly misusing the central investigating agencies ahead of the state assembly elections.
They further said the BJP was rattled by the “immense support” of people for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) for several works undertaken by the Mann government in the state.
The CBI on Tuesday registered a corruption case involving an officer on special duty (OSD) to the Punjab chief minister and other senior officers on the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and conducted searches at multiple locations including the “camp office” of Mann, officials said.
The CBI action came following an order of the high court which had directed the probe to be conducted by the federal agency, noting that the material shared by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) prima facie indicated their involvement in acts of corruption.
Reacting to the raids, Punjab Cabinet minister and senior AAP leader Harpal Singh Cheema said the CBI action reflects the BJP’s “tactics” which it adopts wherever elections are due.
He accused the BJP of misusing the central agencies in poll-bound states with an intention of “capturing” power.
“Wherever elections are due, BJP sends CBI, ED or Income Tax department to that state in order to scare and threaten leaders of opposition parties. It has been seen during elections Delhi, West Bengal and Bihar in the past. And now, elections are due in Punjab,” he said.
He, however, said Punjabis would never get scared of such actions and they would continue to stand by AAP and Mann.
Condemning the CBI action, Cheema said the central agency conducted the raid without waiting for the hearing on a plea filed in the Supreme Court against the high court order.
The Punjab government has moved the Supreme Court, seeking a stay on a high court direction to the CBI to investigate corruption allegations and submit a report within two months.
Cheema said, “We will fight on streets and in courts to save democracy.”
Today, people are happy with the works undertaken by the Mann government, which is why they support it, Cheema further said.
Cabinet minister Tarunpreet Singh Sond too condemned the CBI raids and alleged that the BJP was already “rattled” ahead of the Punjab elections.
“The CBI raid at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ji’s camp office is a result of this very nervousness. Central agencies like the ED and CBI are being misused to defame the Mann government.
“But the people of Punjab understand everything. The people’s love cannot be taken away through political raids,” he said in a post on X.
Cabinet minister Barinder Kumar Goyal said the BJP’s “nervousness” is clearly visible even before the elections in Punjab.
“The CBI raid at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ji’s camp office is part of this same political vendetta. Attempts are being made to defame the Mann government by misusing central agencies like the ED and CBI.
“But the people of Punjab are watching everything. The love and trust being received from the people are the BJP’s biggest source of nervousness,” said Goyal.
Referring to the CBI raids, Cabinet minister Ravjot Singh said the BJP has already started preparing for the Punjab elections.
“The CBI raid at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ji’s camp office is a result of this political panic. Demonstrating the BJP’s low-level politics, central agencies like the ED and CBI are being misused to defame the Mann government,” he said.
The high court order came on a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Nikhil Saraf, who had sought an independent probe into the matter raised by the ED with the Punjab Police in its letters to the director general of police (DGP).
The ED had written to the Punjab Police, seeking registration of an FIR on graft charges against a private person, Nitin Gohal, who allegedly acted as an intermediary between interested persons and Rajbir Ghuman, the OSD to the Punjab chief minister. Both Gohal and Ghuman have already rejected the allegations.
The ED wrote to the Punjab Police, seeking registration of an FIR against Gohal and others for allegedly influencing transfers and postings of government officials, facilitating arms licence approvals, leaking confidential government documents and securing government approvals in lieu of alleged monetary and other benefits.
The ED had written three letters to the Punjab DGP for the registration of a case. The ED’s letter stems from a money laundering investigation linked to the submission of alleged fake consent letters for obtaining Change of Land Use (CLU) in a case involving a housing society.
The ED had conducted searches on the premises of Gohal, Ajay Sehgal of Indian Cooperative House Building Society, the Suntec City Project and some others in the month of May. PTI CHS VSD KSS
KSS
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