The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out searches at business entities linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal in Punjab as part of a Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) investigation. Mittal recently replaced fellow leader Raghav Chadha as the party's Rajya Sabha deputy leader.
Mittal, a 61-year-old businessman and educationist who heads the Lovely Group is also the Chancellor of Lovely Professional University in Phagwara.
According to officials cited by news agency PTI, multiple locations connected to Mittal’s business interests in Jalandhar and Phagwara, along with other sites, are being searched as part of the ongoing probe.
The action is being taken under FEMA provisions, officials added.
The AAP In a statement on X, said that the raids were part of a “pattern” of targeting opposition leaders and linked the action to preparations for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections. It alleged that instead of contesting politically, the ruling party at the Centre was relying on investigative agencies to pressure opponents.
Calling Punjab a state that “fears no one,” the party asserted that it would continue its work on the ground and focus on public service despite such actions.
Party chief Arvind Kejriwal said the BJP had “started preparing for elections in Punjab” and warned that people of the state would respond strongly.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly condemned the raids alleging that the BJP has begun its "preparations" for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
Reacting to the raids, Mann, in a post on X in Hindi, said, "BJP begins preparations for Punjab elections. ED raids at the home and university of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal... typical Modi style."
Quoting a well-known couplet in the same post, the chief minister wrote, "Hum vo patte nahin, jo shakh se tut kar gir jayenge. Andhiyon ko keh do apni aukaat mein rahen" (We are not leaves that will fall off the branch; tell the storms to remain within their limits)."
Punjab Assembly elections are due early next year.
(With PTI inputs)