'BJP's Poll Campaign Has Begun': Bhagwant Mann On CBI Raids On His Aide

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday lashed out at the BJP-led Central government after CBI raids on his Officer-on-Special Duty (OSD) and others in a corruption case, saying that this indicates the saffron party's election campaign has begun in the poll-bound state.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday registered a corruption case involving OSD to Mann and five others on the Punjab and Haryana High Court's directions, and searched several locations, including the chief minister's "camp office", officials said.

On the non-appearance of his OSD Rajbir Singh Ghumman despite a CBI summons, the Chief Minister said the government was not running away from the investigation.

"We will fully cooperate with the investigation. Whenever we receive a summons through the proper channel, we will appear before the CBI," Mann said.

Earlier, the high court noted that the material submitted by the Enforcement Directorate against the officers prima facie indicated their involvement in corruption, and directed a CBI probe.

While interacting with reporters after the launch of the Hunar Punjab portal here, Mann was asked about the CBI raids.

"The BJP has started its election campaign. This is their way," he replied.

"The CBI search means that the Punjab Assembly elections will be held on time," he said, taking a swipe at the BJP.

Mann alleged that whenever an election is due in a non-BJP-ruled state, the Central agencies start raid operations months ahead, citing examples of Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka and Haryana where he alleged that central agency action took place ahead of elections.

Mann also referred to West Bengal, claiming that ED raids involving people close to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were conducted around two months before the elections.

When pointed out that the CBI action followed high court's directions, the chief minister said, "CBI has cases pending for 10-15 years. Do they ever take such quick action?"

He said the BJP is trying to create fear and tarnish the image of an elected government through Central investigative agencies; however, "no matter how many raids they conduct, they will not find even a single rupee of corruption in our possession".

The Chief Minister said the people of Punjab had repeatedly rejected the politics of fear and intimidation.

"They can conduct raids, send agencies and create pressure, but they cannot raid the hearts of Punjabis or silence their voices. People of Punjab will continue to stand with truth and development," he said.