High-voltage political drama erupted across Punjab after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) conducted coordinated searches at Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s official camp office in Sector 2, Chandigarh, alongside multiple premises connected to his Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Rajbir Singh Ghuman.
The crackdown immediately escalated into a heated political showdown between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), setting a tense tone for the state’s upcoming 2027 Assembly elections.
Central Agencies Misused to Defame AAP: CM Bhagwant Mann
Reacting strongly to the agency’s action, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused the BJP-led Central government of weaponising federal investigative agencies out of “desperation” to gain political ground in the border state.
“BJP has started preparing for the Punjab elections. A CBI raid was conducted at my camp office. Now ED and CBI will be misused in Punjab to defame the Punjab Government and me. Seeing the love and support I am receiving from the people, the BJP is rattled,” CM Mann stated.
The sentiment was strongly echoed by AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who claimed that the raids were born out of the BJP’s anxiety ahead of the polls. Kejriwal asserted that voters in Punjab would respond to the central agency’s actions by re-electing Bhagwant Mann with over 100 seats in the Assembly. Furthermore, Punjab AAP chief Aman Arora alleged that the BJP’s campaign for 2027 had officially kicked off through central agencies because the party lacked ground support in the state.
High Court Order, Not Political Vendetta: BJP Hits Back
The BJP firmly dismissed all accusations of political interference, pointing out that the federal agency acted strictly under explicit directions from the judiciary.
Senior BJP leader Tarun Chugh clarified that the probe stems from an order by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which instructed the CBI to register a case after reviewing material submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that prima facie indicated corruption. The allegations currently under investigation cover wide-ranging operational decisions, including:
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Interference in IAS and IPS officer postings and transfers.
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Departmental proceedings and policy-level choices.
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Manipulations in tender conditions, commercial licenses, and Change of Land Use (CLU) matters.
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Property disputes and Revenue Department operations.
“Instead of political allegations, let the investigation and judicial process take their course. If the allegations are unfounded, the investigation will establish that as well. Punjab deserves transparency, facts, and accountability,” Chugh added, while demanding Mann’s resignation on moral grounds.
Opposition Launches Joint Attack on AAP Government
The raids provided swift ammunition to Punjab’s opposition parties, who seized on the searches at House No. 50 — long viewed as the nerve centre of the state administration.
Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa, took to X to criticise the ruling party:
“House No. 50 — Bhagwant Mann’s camp office, and the very residence from where his Delhi masters ran Punjab — is now being raided by the CBI. The irony is hard to miss: the place that symbolised Delhi’s remote control over Punjab is now under the CBI scanner.”
State Congress President Pargat Singh remarked that the AAP’s “boat is going to sink,” while Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal declared that the raids had sent shockwaves through Punjab’s administrative hierarchy. Badal noted that after years of corruption claims and unfulfilled promises, the “walls of power are beginning to crumble.”
