CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday accused the BJP-led Centre of political vendetta after he was stopped at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport for around three hours and fined Rs 50,000 by the Customs Department while returning from Paris with his wife, Dr Gurpreet Kaur, on Monday night.
Linking the incident to the Aam Aadmi Party’s demand for the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Mann alleged, “This is how they take revenge.”
Mann had reportedly opted for the green channel (Nothing to Declare) despite allegedly carrying items that required clearance through the red channel (Goods to Declare).
Sources said the baggage contained several items, including shoes, belts, clothes, daily-use watches and jewellery. After spending time in the Customs enclosure, Mann exited the airport. The BJP’s official social media accounts have also claimed that designer shoes, belts and other expensive accessories were found in his luggage.
The fine was initially paid by two IAS officers, the Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary, Ravi Bhagat, and Punjab Government Resident Commissioner in Delhi, S Karuna Raju. The amount was drawn from the Resident Commissioner’s office imprest account and later reimbursed by the Chief Minister.
After landing at around 11 pm at the IGI Airport in Delhi, Mann and his wife went to the VIP lounge while waiting for their luggage. After a delay of around two hours, they were informed that Customs officials had detained their baggage. They then went to the Customs enclosure, where officials opened and inspected their luggage in the presence of Mann and his wife.
Mann was leading a Punjab Government delegation to promote the state’s agricultural produce, particularly kidney beans and chickpeas, at an international food festival.
The incident has triggered a political exchange between the ruling AAP and the BJP, with the former alleging that central agencies and officials were being used to target its leadership.
Participating in a debate on an official resolution in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on the second day of its proceedings, Mann alleged that upon his return from France, Customs officials at the Delhi airport took him aside and made him sit for two hours.
“They said they would check the luggage. When they found nothing, they said we could go. When I, along with my delegation, was leaving the airport, the officials cited that there was ‘pressure from above’. After this, they asked us to pay a Rs 50,000 fine, and we told them that if it is a matter of your job, then they may impose the fine,” he said.
Mann alleged that the action was intended as retaliation for the AAP’s stand against the Chief Election Commissioner. He referred to Manish Kumar, a senior Customs official, as Gyanesh Kumar’s brother.
“Who is the Customs head at Delhi airport? It is Manish, brother of (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. This is how they take revenge,” he alleged, while hitting out at the Centre.
The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed an official resolution seeking an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities concerning electoral processes and the functioning of the Election Commission under CEC Kumar.
As the BJP claimed that it could dismantle the illicit drug trade in Punjab within two years of coming to power, Mann alleged that the biggest drug cartels had flourished in the state during the Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government from 2007 to 2017.
Referring to Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement on the seizure of narcotics worth Rs 20,000 crore at ports, Mann said the AAP had maintained that drugs entered the country through ports under the control of the Union Government.
Responding to Shah’s assertion that the National Democratic Alliance would form the government in Punjab, Mann said the decision would rest with the people of the state.
“Shah cannot decide who will form the government. It is the three crore Punjabis who will decide,” he said.
The exchange comes amid a political confrontation over the drug menace in Punjab and the killing of anti-drug activist Parvinder Singh Jhota in Mansa. The BJP has accused the AAP government of failing to curb drug trafficking, while the state government has handed over the probe into Jhota’s killing to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Reacting to Mann’s claim that he was harassed at the IGI Airport in Delhi, the Punjab BJP asked him to make public the receipt for the fine allegedly imposed on him by Customs officials.
Punjab BJP General Secretary Anil Sarin challenged Mann to explain why the department had fined him Rs 50,000 and sought to know what the Chief Minister had brought back from abroad that prompted the action.
Speaking to the media, Sarin said Mann could not evade accountability by claiming that the head of Customs at Delhi airport was the brother of the Chief Election Commissioner. He dismissed the claim as ridiculous and accused Mann and the AAP of trying to mislead the public through baseless allegations.
Sarin said the Chief Minister must first clarify which items had led to him being stopped at the airport and why the fine was imposed. Before levelling allegations against others, Mann should come clean on the facts, he added.
Sarin also accused Mann of trying to politicise the Customs Department’s action instead of providing a clear explanation of the incident.
Senior Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia claimed that Mann and his wife were questioned for hours over allegations of carrying excess luggage or undeclared money after returning from France, where they had celebrated Mann’s birthday. Majithia said they were eventually permitted to leave, keeping Mann’s official position in view.
AAP Punjab General Secretary Baltej Pannu had earlier released a video statement alleging that Mann faced “unnecessary harassment” despite travelling to promote the state’s products. He claimed that officials initially allowed Mann to leave but returned, citing “pressure” to issue a Rs 50,000 challan.
Pannu also alleged that India’s Consul General in Paris failed to meet the Chief Minister, disregarding protocol directions from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Mann travelled to Paris after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed a state government plea challenging the Centre’s “arbitrary” decision to deny him political clearance for the visit.
He participated in SIAL Paris 2026, an international food trade exhibition held from October 17 to 21.
The development comes amid ongoing friction between the AAP government and the BJP over law and order and the drug issue.
