BJP says AAP’s ‘clean politics’ claim exposed after ED raids in Punjab

The BJP leader said that the people of Punjab voted for AAP in the hope of change, but the state is now witnessing deterioration in governance and law and order.

The BJP on Friday launched a scathing attack on the AAP-led Punjab government over the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids, alleging that those who once ''distributed certificates of honesty'' are now facing raids at the premises of their close associates. The ED on Thursday conducted searches at multiple locations in Punjab and Chandigarh, including the premises of an alleged associate of an Aam Aadmi Party functionary in the state, as part of a money laundering probe against two realty groups on charges of fraudulent change of land use and duping investors, officials said. BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said that the ruling party's claims of clean politics have been exposed, and accused it of patronising corruption and land-related irregularities. ''The reality of the Aam Aadmi Party, which pretends to practise clean politics against corruption in Punjab, is being exposed layer by layer. Those who distributed certificates of honesty are today seeing raids at the premises of their own close associates,'' Chugh told PTI Videos. He claimed that the ED, in its official statement, has directly named a senior AAP leader from Punjab. ''Fake land documents, dubious CLU certificates, encroachment and political protection -- this is not merely a builder-related case, but an exposure of land loot under the AAP government,'' he alleged. The BJP leader said that the people of Punjab voted for AAP in the hope of change, but the state is now witnessing deterioration in governance and law and order. ''The people of Punjab gave the Aam Aadmi Party a chance in the name of change. But today, law and order in Punjab has collapsed. Mafias have become stronger and corruption has become institutionalised,'' Chugh said. He also alleged that both the AAP leadership from Delhi and the leaders elected in Punjab are ''looting'' the state. ''The situation is such that those who came from Delhi are also looting and those elected from Punjab are also looting. Punjab is being looted with both hands,'' he said. The BJP leader also targeted Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, accusing him of making false allegations to divert attention from the ''failures'' of his government. ''Bhagwant Mann is making false allegations and indulging in politics to divert attention from every failure and incompetence of his government,'' Chugh said. Chugh on Thursday served a legal notice of defamation to Mann for his remarks blaming the BJP for the twin blasts in Jalandhar and Amritsar, and asked him to either provide proof for his claim or resign from his post. Referring to issues such as drugs, unemployment and law and order, he alleged that every section of society in Punjab is unhappy with the present government. ''Drug menace, mafia, unemployment, collapse of law and order, financial distress -- every section of Punjab is distressed,'' he said. ''Punjab did not elect you as chief minister to crack jokes, but to develop the state and provide security to its people. Today, every section of Punjab -- farmers, industrialists, youth, women and the poor -- is distressed, while Bhagwant Mann remains intoxicated with power,'' Chugh added. The ED, over the last few weeks, has undertaken some major actions against politically linked persons in Punjab, which is slated to go to polls in early 2027. It raided the premises of Punjab Industries Minister and AAP leader Sanjeev Arora, his son, some others, and Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal in separate cases. Mittal, who was with AAP, later defected to the BJP along with six other AAP MPs.