Mann Tells Assembly His Airport Hold-Up Was 'Revenge', Claims Customs Chief Is CEC's Brotherਮਾਨ ਨੇ ਵਿਧਾਨ ਸਭਾ ਵਿੱਚ ਕਿਹਾ, ਹਵਾਈ ਅੱਡੇ ਉੱਤੇ ਰੋਕ ਬਦਲਾਖੋਰੀ ਸੀ; ਦਾਅਵਾ ਕੀਤਾ ਕਸਟਮ ਮੁਖੀ ਚੋਣ ਕਮਿਸ਼ਨਰ ਦਾ ਭਰਾ ਹੈ

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann carried his airport row into the Punjab Vidhan Sabha on Friday, telling the House that the way he was held up at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport on his return from France was an act of political revenge. Speaking during the debate on the Assembly's resolution against the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Mann alleged that Manish Kumar, the Chief Commissioner heading the Delhi Customs Zone, is the brother of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. 'Who is the Customs head at Delhi airport? It is Manish, brother of Gyanesh Kumar. This is how they take revenge,' he told the House, according to reports of the proceedings in Hindustan Times and The Times of India.

What Mann told the House

Mann said that when he and his delegation were leaving the airport after returning from France, officials took him to one side and made him sit for two hours, saying his luggage was being checked. 'Nothing was found in my luggage,' he said. He told the House that officials cited 'pressure from above', and that a fine of Rs 50,000 was imposed, which was paid after he told the officials that if it was a matter of their jobs, they could impose it. His account in the Assembly put the wait at two hours; his party had earlier claimed he was made to wait about three hours. The claim about the customs chief's family relationship with the Chief Election Commissioner is the Chief Minister's allegation, made on the floor of the House. It had not been independently confirmed in the reports reviewed, and neither the customs authorities nor the Election Commission had responded in those reports.

The background to the airport episode

Mann had travelled to Paris for SIAL Paris 2026, an international food trade exhibition held from October 17 to 21, after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed the visit when the Centre had not given political clearance. AAP claimed earlier this week that he was detained at Delhi airport on his return, made to wait for hours and fined Rs 50,000, with officials citing tremendous pressure from above; customs sources described the action as routine screening, and the BJP had asked what goods had attracted the duty and the fine. That episode was reported by Jugti on October 20. Friday's remarks are the first time Mann has himself described the incident in the Assembly and attached it to the Election Commission, on the same day the House passed its resolution seeking an independent probe into the poll panel's functioning under Gyanesh Kumar.

Why the remark lands where it does

The comment ties two separate fights into one: the AAP government's clash with the Centre over the Chief Minister's treatment, and the wider political battle over the SIR voter roll revision, in which the opposition INDIA bloc is demanding Gyanesh Kumar's removal and Punjab's Assembly has now formally sought an independent inquiry. By naming the CEC's alleged brother as the officer behind his airport hold-up, Mann presented the two as connected. That connection is his claim, not an established fact, and it comes in a week when the Assembly has already suspended a Congress MLA, seen Congress members storm the well over the Jhota murder, and passed the SIR resolution unanimously.

What happens next

The reports reviewed carried no response from the customs department, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs or the Election Commission to the Chief Minister's allegation. If any of them replies, the claim can be tested against the record. Until then, what is verified is narrower: the Chief Minister of Punjab stated on the floor of the Assembly that his airport hold-up was revenge and named the officer he holds responsible, and the House passed its SIR resolution the same day.

What did Bhagwant Mann allege in the Assembly?

He alleged his hold-up at Delhi airport was political revenge and claimed Delhi Customs chief Manish Kumar is the brother of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. The claim had not been independently confirmed in the reports reviewed.

What does Mann say happened at the airport?

He told the House officials took him aside for two hours while his luggage was checked, found nothing, cited pressure from above and imposed a Rs 50,000 fine, which was paid.

When did the airport episode happen?

On his return from Paris earlier this week, after the SIAL Paris food exhibition of October 17 to 21. AAP had claimed he was held for about three hours; customs sources called it routine screening.

Has anyone responded to the allegation?

Not in the reports reviewed. Neither the customs authorities nor the Election Commission had commented on the Chief Minister's claim.