Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday alleged that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann‘s camp office, two months ahead of the elections, was a result of the BJP’s “frustration” and accused the party of using central agencies to fight elections in Punjab.In a post on X, Kejriwal said the CBI raid was an attempt to target Punjab’s elected Chief Minister and alleged that the BJP had consistently “pushed Punjabis around” since coming to power at the Centre, citing the farmers’ movement, the issue of Punjab’s water and the Punjab University issue.“The CBI raid on the Punjab Chief Minister’s office two months before the elections is the result of the BJP’s frustration. Ever since the BJP government came to power at the Center, it has always pushed Punjabis around-be it the farmers’ movement, the issue of Punjab’s water, or the Punjab University issue. And now, it’s even pushing around their elected Chief Minister.”He further alleged that the BJP could not win elections in Punjab by contesting directly and was therefore seeking to fight the polls with the help of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI.“The BJP can’t win elections by contesting in Punjab, so it wants to fight the elections with the help of ED-CBI. But Punjabis have made up their minds, and they will respond to the BJP’s CBI raid in the upcoming elections by electing Bhagwant Mann with 100+ seats and making him Chief Minister again,” Kejriwal said.His remarks came after the CBI conducted searches on Tuesday at House Number 50 in Chandigarh’s Sector 2 area in connection with a case involving Punjab Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman and his associates.Meanwhile, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj also criticised the development and alleged that the BJP-led government was repeating its “Delhi elections playbook” in Punjab.“CBI raids Punjab CM office. Modi Govt is repeating the exact Delhi elections playbook in Punjab. Desperate to make electoral inroads into Punjab, BJP Govt will now register false cases and make high-profile arrests,” Bharadwaj said in a post on X.
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“People of Punjab can see what BJP has done to Delhi people after winning elections by fraud. Fraud won’t be repeated in Punjab,” he added.The remarks by AAP national convenor and party Delhi president followed after the CBI registered an FIR to investigate alleged corruption involving Punjab Chief Minister’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman and his associates.The CBI has alleged that the accused were involved in influencing and manipulating postings of officers, including IAS and IPS officers, departmental proceedings, policy formulation, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, land-use conversion, property disputes and revenue and land-related issues in lieu of pecuniary benefits.The agency also conducted searches at eight locations across Chandigarh and Punjab in connection with the case.
