Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday alleged that the BJP-led Central government is playing “dangerous games” with Punjab. He made the remarks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) carried out fresh searches against Punjab Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora.
He alleged that the Centre of using Central agencies such as the ED and the CBI as “weapons” to achieve political objectives. He also alleged that the BJP was indulging in divisive and hate-driven politics, calling it the “Bharat Jalao Party”. The Chief Minister said the BJP was playing "dangerous games" with the state but Punjab would not allow such tactics to succeed.
Speaking during a press interaction in Sangrur, Mann claimed that agencies like the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department had become “politicised tools” in the hands of the BJP. "For a long time, they have been using them for their politics. Be it Maharashtra, Odisha, Bihar, Karnataka, West Bengal. Now, Punjab is on their target," CM Mann said.
The ED carried out fresh searches against Arora and some persons allegedly linked to him in connection with a newly registered money laundering case, officials said. According to officials, Arora’s official residence in Chandigarh was among five locations searched during the operation.
The searches were carried out after the Central agency registered a fresh case under criminal provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The ED had also conducted searches against Arora and entities connected to him in April under the civil provisions of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).
Arora, 62, is an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA from the Ludhiana West Assembly constituency.
“I strongly condemn the misuse of the ED,” Mann said while criticising the Centre. He alleged that ED raids were conducted not to uncover illegal money but to pressure political leaders to join the BJP, claiming that cases were often forgotten once leaders switched sides.
Mann referred to Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal and questioned what happened to earlier ED action after Mittal recently joined the BJP. The Chief Minister said the ongoing searches against Arora were the third in just over a year and claimed nothing had been recovered in earlier raids.
He alleged that the Centre attempts to create fear among political opponents and said such strategies might work elsewhere but would fail in Punjab. “I want to tell the BJP, Modi and Amit Shah very clearly that this is Punjab, it is not scared by such threats. Modi had to take U-turn and apologise over three farm laws. Maybe Modi is still harbouring that pain,” Mann said.
Earlier, Mann wrote in a post on X, "I want to tell Modi ji that Punjab is the land of the Gurus, which even Aurangzeb could not subdue". Mann further said, "This is the land of Bhagat Singh, who never bowed before the British, so Punjab will never bow before Modi's tactics. The end of this unethical alliance of ED-BJP will begin from Punjab itself." Several other AAP leaders, including Harpal Singh Cheema and Aman Arora, slammed the Centre over the ED searches.
Also read: ED raids Punjab minister Sanjeev Arora’s home, Mann hits back
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