The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) headquarters in Mohali, triggered sharp reactions from the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday, with party workers breaching police barricades and entering the office premises.
AAP senior leaders, including finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema and Manish Sisodia, accused the BJP-led central government of using federal agencies to “instil fear” across the state.
No complaints from the ED have been received yet. “We will approach the courts and hit the streets against their ulterior motives. “They filed false cases against our top leadership in Delhi before assembly polls, which failed in court. They used the same tactics in West Bengal and Bihar,” he alleged. Addressing allegations of irregularities in land deals and change of land use (CLU) approvals, Cheema denied any wrongdoing. AAP’s Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia claimed that despite the raids, the ED had found neither money nor documents indicating corruption. “The AAP was running the government honestly.
The strong reaction follows raids targeting the GMADA office, the residence of cabinet minister Hardeep Singh Mundian’s nephew in Sahnewal, and a Sector 39 government bungalow in Chandigarh where AAP leader Satyendar Jain, the party’s Punjab co-in-charge, stays during his visits. “Around 6-7 people, including AAP MLA from Batala Amansher Singh, were detained by the Mohali police. Bring not 4,000, but 400,000 ED officers, and open ED offices in every household if you want. The senior A leader was not present when the federal agency reached the house in Sector 39, Mohali, and officials broke open the locks to gain entry, sources said.
If any complaint comes, we will act on it”, DSP Harsimran Bal said. Under Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership, the AAP will fight to defeat the BJP,” State finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema said. He claimed the central government “habitually deploys” agencies like the ED, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and the Income Tax Department ahead of elections. He said land unused for years was sold to private companies through a public auction. You will find nothing,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: The agency is looking into alleged irregularities in land acquisition, changes in land-use permissions, property auctions and financial concessions granted to private realtors, the sources said.
Earlier reporting noted: The ED also searched the residence of Punjab minister Hardeep Singh Mundian’s nephew at Ludhiana’s Sahnewal. The AAP on Thursday said the Punjab government and the party will pursue all legal remedies and launch street protests to counter the BJP-led central government’s alleged attempt to intimidate state leaders and officials through federal agencies. Earlier reporting noted: On Wednesday, ED sleuths searched a house in Chandigarh where former Delhi minister Jain often resides.
