Chandigarh

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday slammed the Centre after the ED raided premises linked to state minister Sanjeev Arora, saying democracy is being "murdered by harassing only non-BJP governments".

Accusing the Centre of using agencies like the ED and the CBI as weapons, Mann claimed the raids show that the BJP has begun its "preparations" for the Punjab elections scheduled next year.

Shortly after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at the premises of the minister and some others as part of a probe, Arora said as a responsible citizen, he will cooperate with the agencies.

"Good Morning! An action by the Enforcement Directorate took place at my premises. As a responsible citizen, I will fully cooperate with the agencies and I am confident that the truth will prevail," Arora said in a post on X.

A few days back, the federal probe agency conducted searches at the premises of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal and his educational institutions in Punjab and Haryana under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA).

Mittal was recently appointed AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha. Mittal is also the chancellor of the Lovely Professional University in Phagwara.

Hitting out at the BJP over the ED raids, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal said it was the second such action by the agency at the premises of AAP leaders in 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 nation is watching the petty politics you are engaging in solely for the sake of power,” Kejriwal said in a post on X in Hindi.

Addressing a press conference here, Mann said, “A few days back, the ED conducted raids at Mittal's premises. Today, raids are going on at Sanjeev Arora's premises. He is our power, local bodies and industries minister, and he too became tainted today.”

Mann also claimed that sending the ED, slapping income-tax notices, and using threats are signs that the BJP has begun preparations for next year’s Punjab polls, for which “it is unable to field candidates on 117 seats”.

“The BJP is thinking that let’s scare them by sending the ED so that they either do not contest (the polls) or join the saffron camp by going through its washing machine,” Mann claimed.

"Democracy is being murdered, which we strongly condemn. Only the non-BJP governments are being harassed,” he added.

Terming the Centre's “misuse” of central agencies a “cowardly act” of the BJP government, Mann said, “We are not going to be scared. They may send the ED, CBI or whatever they have. We will continue to fight and stand by the truth… Justice will ultimately prevail.”

Even the Mughals ruled India for long, but even their rule came to an end, he added.

“Democracy is being strangled for some time now. The Centre stops funds to non-BJP governments or harasses them through governors. Now the AAP is on BJP’s target because we became a national party in just 10 years, and are expanding.

"The BJP thinks it can tackle the Congress. To stop a third force from emerging, they slapped ED cases against our leaders in Delhi, and sent our top leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal, who was a chief minister then, to jail.

“In West Bengal, the BJP changes the DGP and other senior officers. When it fails to win people's support, it misuses the ED, CBI and other agencies.

“Is this democracy? It is not, it is dictatorship,” Mann said.

“In Punjab, the BJP gets just one or two seats. To increase that number, it is now taking the ED's support. The BJP has no cadres or leaders, so it poaches leaders from Congress, Akali Dal and other outfits," Mann claimed.

Stating that leaders like Sunil Jakhar, Amarinder Singh, Manpreet Singh Badal and others who joined the BJP came from the Congress, the chief minister said, "The BJP has set up a Congress wing in Punjab.”

Sharpening his attack on the Centre, Mann also claimed that US President Donald Trump is now dictating terms to India.

“From 'Vishwa Guru', we have become 'Vishwa Chele'. Is a country run like this?" he asked.

Referring to the catchy family planning slogan ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’, Mann claimed that the Centre is running on the same principle with two of its top leaders and two of their favourite industrialists running the show.

“We used to hear the slogan ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’. Even now it is ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’, i.e., Amit Shah and (Narendra) Modi, and (Mukesh) Ambani and (Gautam) Adani. The government is running on the principle of ‘Hum Do Hamare Do’,” he claimed.