"BJP has started prep for 2027 Assembly elections...": Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on ED raid on AAP leader

Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], April 17 : Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann on Friday, in a scathing attack on the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), said it has started its preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections by means of harassment, ED and Income Tax attacks on the Opposition.

Speaking at a press conference, the Punjab Chief Minister criticised the Enforcement Directorate (ED), saying that it had targeted Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal just a few days back, and now another AAP leader and Punjab Cabinet Minister, Sanjeev Arora, has been subjected to an ED raid.

"Recently, the ED raided the house of our Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal... Today, who is the founder of Lovely Professional University? Over 40,000 students study there from over 35 countries. He was targeted because he belongs to the Aam Aadmi Party. ED is raiding the house of Sanjeev Arora. He had defeated the BJP here in the by-election. Today, he became a target," he said.

He further said that all this is part of the BJP's preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections.

Speaking on the Excise Policy Case, he underlined that the AAP national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal and AAP leader Manish Sisodia were released by the Court because the case was fabricated and no outcome could have been gained from it.

"This means that the BJP has started preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections. They have started to send ED, Income Tax department, and have started to scare and harass the Opposition. BJP is not getting 117 people to contest the elections. Democracy is being murdered; I condemn it. Only non-BJP governments are being implicated. Nothing comes out of the raids. Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodiya were respectfully released. There was no way a trial could have been initiated against them based on a fake case. If someone bows to them, he becomes all clear," he said.

The remarks follow ED's raid at the residence of Punjab minister and MLA Sanjeev Arora, his son Kavya Arora, and his two business partners across Haryana, Chandigarh and Punjab in connection with an ongoing investigation under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal hit out at the Centre over repeated Enforcement Directorate raids on party leaders, asking how much black money had been recovered from the searches.

Questioning the outcome of the actions, he accused the Centre of engaging in politics for power.

In a post on X, Kejriwal wrote, "This is the second ED raid at the residence of an Aam Aadmi Party leader within three days. Will the Prime Minister tell us how much black money has been recovered from the countless raids conducted so far at the residences of "AAP" leaders? Not even a single rupee? The entire country is watching how petty politics you are indulging in just for the sake of power."

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