The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday gheraoed the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority (GMADA) office, where Enforcement Directorate teams had been conducting search operations since Tuesday morning.
Around 400 AAP leaders and workers gathered outside the office in Mohali and raised slogans against the BJP, alleging that the ED action was aimed at putting pressure on th
The protest was led by AAP’s state working president Amansher Singh Sherry Kalsi, along with MLA Chetan Singh Jouramajra and S S Ahluwalia. The AAP workers held placards and raised slogans against the BJP and the ED.
As the protesters tried to force their way inside, a posse of Mohali police personnel thwarted their attempts. Some miscreants also pelted stones at the ED vehicles, smashing their windowpanes.
The protest ended at around 12.55 pm, just minutes before the ED wound up its 50-hour-long operation. The ED operation ended at 1.20 pm.
The action has further escalated the political confrontation between the state’s ruling party, AAP, and the Centre’s ruling party, BJP, in the poll-bound state.
Questioning the ED searches at the GMADA office, the party alleged that despite the prolonged searches, the agency had so far failed to find anything substantial. It also questioned the timing and manner of the action, alleging that the central agency was being used by the BJP-led Centre to intimidate government officials.
Thursday marked the third and final day of the ED search and surveillance operation at the GMADA office, where files related to alleged money laundering, change in land use and land acquisition were examined, besides those related to the recent bid to raise a loan of Rs 15,000 crore through a merchant banker.
AAP leaders and workers break the glass panes of the GMADA office building during a protest against ED raids in Mohali on Thursday. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar
Last night, the ED also conducted search operations at the residence of Satyendar Jain, co-in-charge of Punjab affairs of the AAP.
“Despite the prolonged raid, the ED has not found anything so far,” the party said, alleging that the timing and manner of the searches showed that the objective was to frighten officials.
The ED has not, however, concluded its investigation or stated that no incriminating material has been recovered during the searches. There are, however, reports that a huge amount of cash was recovered during the search operation at the Sector 19 residence of an IAS officer.
The party also alleged that repeated ED action ahead of the elections was an attempt to put pressure on the Bhagwant Mann government and disrupt the functioning of the state administration.
An AAP worker during a protest against the ED raids at the GMADA office in Mohali on Thursday. Tribune photo: Ravi Kumar
AAP leaders said the party would not tolerate what they termed “BJP’s coercive tactics” in Punjab and gheraoed the GMADA office as a mark of protest.
Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, while addressing mediapersons, said the BJP-led Centre had been using four central agencies — the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI, Income Tax Department and Election Commission — as “tools” in Opposition-ruled, poll-bound states since 2014.
“In Delhi, a case was made out against the entire AAP leadership before the 2025 polls, which was later quashed by the court. They have done the same in West Bengal and Bihar. But people have now seen through their game plan,” he said.
AAP leaders and workers protest against ED raids at the GMADA office in Mohali on Thursday.
