Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Oct 6: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted searches at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s camp office in Chandigarh in connection with an alleged graft case involving his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajbir Singh Ghuman.
The CBI took over the investigation into alleged corruption involving Ghuman and other associates and conducted searches at eight locations in Chandigarh, Mohali, Jalandhar and other places. The agency also registered an FIR against Ghuman and five others.
In a post on X, Kejriwal said the CBI raid on the Punjab Chief Minister’s office two months before the elections was the “result of BJP’s frustration”.
“Ever since the BJP government came to power at the Centre, 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 said.
Kejriwal alleged that the BJP could not win elections in Punjab by contesting them directly and therefore wanted to fight the elections with the help of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI.
He expressed confidence in an AAP victory in the upcoming Assembly polls, saying Punjabis would respond to the CBI action by electing Bhagwant Mann with “100+ seats” and making him Chief Minister again.
During the searches, the CBI collected laptops, mobile phones and documents as evidence and sent them to a forensic laboratory for extraction of data linked to the alleged bribery and impropriety, a CBI official said.
The agency said it registered the FIR following directions of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and after receiving a report from the ED. The High Court had directed the CBI to register a case and investigate allegations linked to the functioning of the Chief Minister’s Office.
The CBI has booked Ghuman, Nitin Gohal, Jitin Gohal alias Raja, Romi Raja Mahajan, Bir Devinder and R.S. Nagra, along with unknown public servants and private persons, in the case.
The allegations relate to alleged corruption involving government postings, access to confidential documents, policy matters, tenders and other official decisions. The allegations are subject to investigation.
The Punjab government has challenged the High Court order directing the CBI probe in the Supreme Court.
The headline can also be shortened further to: **“Kejriwal calls CBI raid on Mann’s office BJP’s frustration”**.