Kejriwal Calls CBI Raid on Punjab CM's Camp Office 'Result of BJP's Frustration'ਸੀਬੀਆਈ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਪੰਜਾਬ ਦੇ ਮੁੱਖ ਮੰਤਰੀ ਦੇ ਕੈਂਪ ਦਫਤਰ 'ਤੇ ਛਾਪਾ: 'ਇਹ ਭਾਜਪਾ ਦੀ ਹਤਾਸ਼ਾ ਦਾ ਨਤੀਜਾ' — ਕੇਜਰੀਵਾਲ

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party after the Central Bureau of Investigation searched Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's camp office in Chandigarh, calling the raid the "result of BJP's frustration" ahead of the 2027 Punjab assembly elections.

In a post on X, Kejriwal said the CBI raid on the Punjab chief minister's office "two months before the elections" showed the BJP could not defeat AAP at the ballot box and so wanted "to fight the elections with the help of ED-CBI".

Punjabis have made up their minds

The AAP chief accused the BJP-led central government of repeatedly "pushing Punjabis around" — citing the farmers' movement, the issue of Punjab's water, and the Punjab University row — and said the pressure had now extended to "pushing around their elected chief minister".

Kejriwal expressed confidence that Punjab's voters would answer the raid with their ballots, predicting that AAP would return to power with "100+ seats" and that Mann would become chief minister again.

Eight locations searched, FIR registered

The CBI on Tuesday searched eight locations in Chandigarh, Mohali, Jalandhar and other cities linked to Mann's officer on special duty Rajbir Ghuman and five others, and registered an FIR following the Punjab and Haryana High Court's order directing the probe. Agency officials said laptops, mobile phones and documents seized in the searches were sent to a forensic lab.

The case stems from three Enforcement Directorate letters to the Punjab Police alleging corruption around transfers and postings, land-use conversion, licences and leaked confidential documents — material the police never acted on. The Mann government has moved the Supreme Court against the High Court order; the top court declined a same-day hearing on Tuesday.

Mann has called the searches the BJP's election campaign, saying the party fears the public support AAP enjoys in Punjab. BJP leaders, including Ravneet Bittu, have countered that the probe has exposed the functioning of the chief minister's office.

Why did Kejriwal react to the CBI raids?

Kejriwal said the CBI searched the Punjab chief minister's camp office "two months before the elections" and called it the result of the BJP's frustration, arguing the party wants to fight the Punjab polls "with the help of ED-CBI".

What is the CBI investigating?

The agency is probing alleged corruption linked to CM Mann's OSD Rajbir Ghuman and five others — claims around transfers, postings, tenders, licences and land-use conversion raised in Enforcement Directorate letters the Punjab Police never acted on.

What happens next in the case?

The High Court has asked the CBI to submit its report within two months, while the Punjab government has challenged the probe order in the Supreme Court, which refused a same-day hearing.