Activists of the district unit of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday staged a protest against the alleged misuse of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against their party leaders outside the residence of BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh.
During the protest, AAP MLAs alleged that party leader and minister Sanjeev Arora was arrested by the ED on Saturday as part of political vendetta. They further claimed that the BJP had earlier pressured AAP Rajya Sabha members to join the BJP through ED raids and investigations.
The protest was led by AAP district president Prabhbir Singh Brar and attended by Amritsar Lok Sabha in-charge Jaskaran Singh Bandesha, Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO, MLA Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar, MLAs Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Dr Ajay Gupta, Jasbir Singh Sandhu, Jeevanjot Kaur and Dalbir Singh Tong.
The leaders alleged that during the last one month, the ED conducted multiple raids at Sanjeev Arora’s residence and offices. Despite repeated raids, they claimed, Arora did not succumb to BJP pressure. They further accused the BJP of using central agencies to target and suppress opposition leaders.
They stated that action was initiated against Sanjeev Arora because he had succeeded in attracting large-scale investment to Punjab, thereby strengthening the state’s economy, which, according to them, did not suit the BJP.
AAP district president Prabhbir Singh Brar claimed that Sanjeev Arora’s house was raided three times and that he was eventually arrested after refusing to join the BJP.
Lok Sabha in-charge Jaskaran Singh Bandesha alleged that the BJP was directing central agencies across the country to harass opposition leaders and using investigative agencies as political tools. He said that the people of Punjab were fully aware of this political strategy and that the “real face” of the BJP had now been exposed.
The leaders also alleged that the BJP mistreated Punjab farmers during the farmers’ movement and later attempted to weaken Punjab’s rights in the BBMB, Chandigarh, and Panjab University. They claimed that these measures were aimed at undermining Punjab’s interests.
Raising slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the protesters accused the BJP of harbouring an anti-Punjab mindset.
