Industrial Plot Allotment Scam: ED conducts raids at 11 locations; Punjab govt top brass aides on radar; witch-hunt, says AAP
According to the sources, some senior officials, including people allegedly linked to the Chief Minister's Office and the Punjab government, have come under the agency's scanner.
PTC News Desk: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted raids at 11 locations across Punjab as part of investigation into alleged irregularities in the allotment and transfer of industrial plots by the Punjab Small Industries and Export Corporation Limited (PSIEC).
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has not yet issued an official statement on the outcome of its day-long searches. However, sources said that some senior officials, including people allegedly linked to the Chief Minister's Office and the Punjab government, have come under the agency's scanner. The ED has not yet disclosed the specific role of those being investigated.
According to sources, the searches are part of the ED's ongoing money laundering investigation involving Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora.
Reacting to the action, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the BJP-led central government of carrying out a "political vendetta" and called the ED operation a "witch-hunt."
“The massive public anger against the ‘ED Party’ (BJP), as witnessed during the Jantar Mantar protest, has clearly rattled Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead of addressing the growing public outrage, the ED Party (BJP) has chosen to misuse central agencies and pursue political vendetta against its opponents,” it said.
In a late-night statement, the AAP alleged that central agencies were being misused to target the Punjab government after failing to find any evidence against Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The party claimed that the Centre had repeatedly used the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department to investigate the Punjab government but had not found any wrongdoing. It further alleged that, after failing to make any credible allegations against the Chief Minister, the BJP was now trying to target and defame people associated with him.
“This is nothing but a desperate attempt by the ED Party (BJP) to defame Punjab’s elected government through baseless allegations, without any evidence or factual basis. The ED Party (BJP) is trying to achieve through propaganda what it could not achieve through investigations. The Aam Aadmi Party strongly condemns this politics of vendetta and intimidation. The people of Punjab and the country can clearly see that these actions are driven not by facts or law, but by political frustration and a desperate attempt by the ED Party (BJP) to silence those who are working honestly for the public,” the statement further said.