Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian on Thursday hit back at BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu over his claims that he had left Punjab for America, sarcastically saying Bittu had apparently opened a “travel agency” after his own ticket was cut and was now sending Punjab leaders to the US. Taking the BJP head-on over the recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) search at his nephew’s house, Mundian said the action had subjected a widow, children and a pregnant woman to harassment, asserting that the BJP was trying to fight elections through fear after failing to generate public enthusiasm. He said Punjabis could not be intimidated through ED raids or threats, declaring, “We are Punjabis and we aren’t afraid.”
Addressing a press conference, Cabinet Minister and AAP Punjab leader Hardeep Singh Mundian said, “I am holding this press conference in Chandigarh, not America,” said Hardeep Singh Mundian, responding to Ravneet Singh Bittu’s remarks. He said Bittu had been claiming since Wednesday that he had gone to the United States. “After his own ticket was cut, it appears that Ravneet Singh Bittu has started a travel agency on Samrala Road and has booked tickets to America for me and my nephew,” he said.
The Cabinet Minister also questioned the manner in which the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted its recent search at his nephew’s residence, saying the family had already faced a tragedy. He said his nephew’s brother had passed away, following which his nephew moved to Ludhiana with his children and started a business to support his family. “The ED search subjected a widow and her young daughter to harassment and intimidation,” Hardeep Singh Mundian said.
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He said the search continued from 11 am to 3 pm and that children were questioned about why they lived with him. “Officials told the family to convey to him that he should leave the AAP and that his nephew should stop supporting him because AAP is supposedly the ‘wrong party’. This raises questions about whether the purpose of the action is merely an investigation or also an attempt to exert political pressure,” he noted.
Hardeep Singh Mundian stated a small girl remained hungry and crying for hours during the search and that even a one-month-old baby was not allowed to be fed. “My nephew’s pregnant wife was made to stand for three to four hours without being given an opportunity to sit. When the officials were leaving, the family asked for a written record of what had been recovered from the house. The officials subsequently provided a document stating that nothing had been found apart from old household articles. “If nothing was recovered, why was a family harassed for three to four hours?” he asked.
Taking direct aim at the BJP, the Minister said the BJP is trying to fight elections through fear after failing to generate public enthusiasm at its rallies. “Punjab is not a place where people can be intimidated through ED raids or threats. We are Punjabis and we are not afraid,” he asserted.
Hardeep Singh Mundian said the AAP stands for honesty and that AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann are ‘kattar imaandar’ leaders. “If even a single rupee of public money is taken by us, it would be like poison. We are serving Punjab with complete honesty,” he said.
Referring to earlier cases involving AAP leaders, Hardeep Singh Mundian said leaders including Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia had faced prolonged action by central agencies and pointed to subsequent court proceedings in their cases. “The BJP had targeted Delhi’s AAP leadership before the Delhi elections and was now attempting to repeat the same tactics in Punjab,” he added.
Hardeep Singh Mundian said the people of Punjab had already rejected the BJP politically and that the party was now resorting to its agencies because it was worried about the coming elections. “The BJP can use as many agencies and threats as it wants, but the AAP will not be intimidated or abandon its principles,” he said.
