Kapurthala/New Delhi, 30 January 2025: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday claimed that a team from the Election Commission (EC) conducted a search at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official residence, Kapurthala House, in Delhi. In a statement, the party mentioned that EC officials arrived at the premises for the inspection.
The development came a day after Delhi Police seized a private vehicle near Punjab Bhawan carrying a “Punjab government” sticker. The vehicle, registered in Punjab, was found loaded with liquor, cash, and AAP’s election campaign materials. Following the seizure, police registered a case.
Responding to AAP’s claim, the Election Commission dismissed any involvement in the search, clarifying that it does not conduct raids or interfere in investigations.
“Neither does the EC conduct raids nor does it interfere in any investigation,” an EC official said. “The Flying Surveillance Team (FST) acted on a complaint raised on the C-Vigil app, which allows the public to report possible violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Based on the complaint, an inspection was carried out.”
The official further mentioned that the complaint was related to alleged money distribution and that under C-Vigil guidelines, such cases must be addressed within 100 minutes, necessitating a prompt response from the team.
Kejriwal Accuses Congress of Siding with BJP
Meanwhile, AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, in a video address, accused the Congress of working in tandem with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to weaken AAP ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections.
“Congress is not contesting elections in Delhi to win. They are collaborating with the BJP to ensure AAP loses,” Kejriwal said.
He urged Congress supporters to back AAP, claiming that Congress leaders rarely target the BJP but frequently criticize AAP. He also mentioned that if the BJP wins, welfare schemes introduced by AAP in Delhi would be discontinued.
