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.
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.
AAP workers holding placards laid siege to the GMADA office and protested against the search operation. They broke through the barricades, entered the GMADA office premises, damaged the windshield of an SUV belonging to ED officials and also deflated its tyres. No ED official or driver was inside the vehicle at the time of the incident. The ED team left the premises later in the day after completing its search.
Paramilitary personnel accompanying the ED team and Mohali police secured the building as the protesters reached the main entrance.
Mohali police, led by SSP Varun Sharma, reached the spot and pushed the protesters away from the building, bringing an end to the demonstration.
{{/usCountry}}Mohali police, led by SSP Varun Sharma, reached the spot and pushed the protesters away from the building, bringing an end to the demonstration.
{{/usCountry}}“Around 6-7 people, including AAP MLA from Batala Amansher Singh, were detained by the Mohali police. No complaints from the ED have been received yet. If any complaint comes, we will act on it”, DSP Harsimran Bal said.
Centre misusing agencies
ahead of state polls: AAP
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.
“We will approach the courts and hit the streets against their ulterior motives. 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. “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. He said land unused for years was sold to private companies through a public auction.
Cheema also criticised the ED’s operation at the Sector 39 bungalow, alleging that officials broke open the locks to enter. “If someone enters forcibly and plants contraband, who takes responsibility?” he asked, arguing that searches should not occur without the owner or caretaker present. When asked who the bungalow was allotted to, Cheema said he did not know the specific allotment details, noting the area houses ministers, MLAs, and board chairpersons.
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. Bring not 4,000, but 400,000 ED officers, and open ED offices in every household if you want. You will find nothing,” he said.
Raid pressure tactic to force
me to quit party: Mundian
Punjab housing and urban development minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Thursday alleged that ED officials pressured his family to ask him to quit the AAP and join another party during a raid at the house of his nephew, Gurpreet Singh Saini, in Sahnewal, Ludhiana.
“The BJP is trying to fight elections through fear after failing to generate public enthusiasm. Punjabis cannot be intimidated by ED raids or threats,” he said at a press conference.
Mundian alleged that a widow and her young daughter were harassed during the search, which lasted from 11 am to 3 pm. “When the officials were leaving, the family asked for a written record of what had been recovered. The officials provided a document stating that nothing was found. If nothing was recovered, why was the family harassed for three to four hours?” he asked.
Mundian also dismissed BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu’s claim that he had fled Punjab for the United States. “I am holding this press conference in Chandigarh, not America,” Mundian said.
The federal agency’s spokesperson declined to comment on Mundian’s allegations.