SANGRUR, MAY 9 — Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Saturday issued a sharp condemnation of the Central Government, asserting that the state would not be intimidated by the repetitive use of federal investigative agencies against its leaders. The Chief Minister’s remarks followed the arrest of Industries Minister Sanjeev Arora by the Enforcement Directorate, an action Mann characterized as a “politics of vendetta” aimed at destabilizing the Aam Aadmi Party administration.
Addressing a press conference, the Chief Minister stated that the Enforcement Directorate has targeted Arora’s residence three times within a single year, yielding no evidence of wrongdoing. Mann affirmed that these raids are being conducted exclusively in states where the BJP is not in power, suggesting that the objective is to coerce opposition figures into joining the saffron party. He maintained that Punjab, as the land of Gurus and martyrs, has a historical legacy of resisting tyranny and would not bow before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration.
The Chief Minister declared that the “unholy alliance” between the BJP and central agencies would face its eventual collapse starting from Punjab. He maintained that the federal government is misusing the CBI, Income Tax Department, and even the Election Commission to settle political scores. Mann stated that the recent arrest is a reaction to the state’s passage of a stringent anti-sacrilege law, which he affirmed has rattled the central leadership.
In his statement, Mann also pointed out the case of Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, asserting that raids stopped immediately after the leader joined the BJP. The Chief Minister declared that taxpayers’ money should be spent on development rather than weaponizing institutions against democratically elected governments. He maintained that the people of Punjab, who previously compelled the repeal of three controversial farm laws, would remain resilient against any form of political coercion.
