Chandigarh: The Enforcement Directorate teams from Delhi on Wednesday conducted simultaneous raids at multiple business entities linked to AAP MP Ashok Mittal at various places in Punjab and Haryana.
Mittal, who recently replaced AAP MP Raghav Chadha as deputy leader in Rajya Sabha, heads the Lovely Group which has various business entities including Lovely Professional University, Lovely Autos, Lovely Sweets and Lovely Distance Education Centre.
A law graduate and a chartered accountant by profession, Mittal is among the seven Rajya Sabha members of the AAP in the Rajya Sabha.
According to sources, the searches which were carried out in connection with alleged violations of Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), continued in Jalandhar, Phagwara and Gurugram till the time of filing this report.
The residential and business premises linked to the Lovely Group and Mittal’s family members including his brothers Ramesh Mittal and Naresh Mittal were also being searched.
The removal of Chadha from the deputy leader’s post in the Rajya Sabha had also whipped up a bitter war of words within AAP with several accusing him of being ``compromised’’.
TYPICAL MODI STYLE: CM MANN
Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann took to X to react to the ED raids saying: ``BJP has begun preparations for Punjab elections… ED raids at the home and university of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal. Typical Modi style.. We are not the type of leaves that will fall after breaking off the branch, Tell the storms to stay within their limits.
In the past Mann had also accused BJP of attempting to divide people and hit out at Centre for unpaid rural development fund (RDF) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his foreign visits.
The AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal also alleged misuse of Central agencies to target AAP leaders and held that people of Punjab would not tolerate such tactics.
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BJP HITS BACK
Hitting back, minister of state for railways and BJP Rajya Sabha member Ravneet Singh Bittu alleged that the AAP had several ``thieves and robbers'' among its members and even FIRs were being registered against its ministers. ``Modiji follows the policy of swachh Bharat… he has to clean the dirt’’, he added.
State BJP chief Sunil Jakhar also said that incidents involving AAP MLAs continue to surface daily and when the state government fails to act, the Government of India may be compelled to intervene.
Notably, Chadha had yet not reacted to the said ED raids.
