India
oi-Gaurav Sharma
Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP-led Union government of targeting his government by employing the Central Investigative Agencies ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections after CBI conducted searches at the camp office.
Mann argued that the move by the CBI and agencies like Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a manifestation of the desperation of the BJP leadership. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief alleged that the Union government was resorting to such tactics to malign the image of his government in the eyes of the people of Punjab.
Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann accused the Union government of politically targeting his state via CBI searches related to a corruption probe, alleging it’s a pre-2027 election tactic, while BJP cited High Court directives and denied bias.
“BJP has started its preparations for the Punjab elections. The central agencies are being utilized to target those who are popular in Punjab,” Bhagwant Mann said.
The CBI has registered a corruption case against an officer on special duty with the Chief Minister and several other officials.
The CBI raided several places, including the CM’s camp office, as per the directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The probe was initiated after the Punjab and Haryana High Court admitted a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate.
The CBI is investigating allegations of criminal conspiracy in posting IAS, IPS, and other cadre personnel, departmental proceedings in various government departments, policies, and tenders, licensing, change of land use, revenue and property disputes, and issues concerning the Revenue Department.
However, Bhagwant Mann reiterated that the timing of the raid by the CBI was suspicious as it came at a time when the AAP government in Punjab was garnering strength ahead of the 2027 polls.
“The Centre is using investigative agencies against the Punjab government because the BJP could not win elections in Punjab. The AAP leaders and workers in Punjab will face a lot of criticism in the coming days. However, the voters of Punjab will understand this,” Arvind Kejriwal, national convener of AAP, said.
Similarly, Punjab AAP chief Aman Arora said that CBI’s raids were the first step in the BJP’s strategy to win the 2027 election. He argued that Punjab voters have rejected the attempts of the BJP to terrorize the state’s administration through the central agencies.
“The AAP government in Punjab will continue to function without any fear, and the people of Punjab will not allow any interference in the governance,” said Arora.
BJP rejects Mann’s allegations
Meanwhile, BJP has completely rejected the allegations of targeting made by Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and termed them as false and misleading. The party claimed that CBI has initiated the probe on the directions of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Tarun Chugh, senior BJP leader, said that the CBI is an independent agency that has been directed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court to probe the complaint of corruption in the AAP government. Chugh said that Mann should resign immediately from the office of the Punjab Chief Minister.
“The AAP government has unnecessarily created a lot of drama by filing a complaint against itself in the CBI. The central agencies have been directed by the High Court to take cognizance of the complaint,” Chugh said. He argued that the Punjab government should cooperate with the CBI investigation and let the court decide what needs to be done.
“The outcome of the case will decide whether the allegations levelled by AAP against the CBI are true or not,” Chugh concluded.
