Sanjeev Arora’s arrest: Punjab AAP announces statewide protests over alleged misuse of Central agencies

A day after the arrest of its minister Sanjeev Arora by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Punjab’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) announced statewide protests against the alleged “misuse of Central agencies by the BJP.”

In a communication issued by the party, the AAP said it plans to hold demonstrations in all districts of Punjab against the BJP. “This will be Aam Aadmi Party’s attack on the misuse of central agencies by the BJP. We will open a front against the BJP over the misuse of investigative agencies,” the statement said.

Arora was arrested yesterday on alleged money laundering charges after the ED conducted searches at his official residence. This was reportedly the third time the ED had searched his premises.

The AAP has asked its volunteers to take to the streets in every district of Punjab and stage protests outside BJP offices. The ruling party is reportedly attempting to turn the demonstrations into a show of strength.

It may be recalled that over the past month, the ED has carried out a series of search operations involving AAP leaders. The first raid in April was conducted at the premises of Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal. Subsequently, Mittal, along with six other Rajya Sabha members elected by AAP MLAs — Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikramjit Singh Sahney and Swati Maliwal — broke away from the AAP and merged their group with the BJP.

Earlier this week, the ED conducted searches on two real estate groups operating in Punjab and two alleged middlemen. Following the searches, the agency stated that one of the realtors under investigation for allegedly undervaluing a parcel of land and purchasing it at Rs 170 crore below the market rate was a close associate of AAP state president Aman Arora.