Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged on Tuesday that the raid conducted on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj was meant to ‘distract’ public attention from ongoing debates over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s degree authenticity.
In a post on X, Mann wrote, “A raid was conducted on Saurabh Bharadwaj, because since yesterday there has been a nationwide discussion about Modi ji’s degree–whether it is fake. This raid was carried out only to distract attention from that issue.”
He referenced the case of former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and said that cases against AAP leaders are fabricated.
“Satyendar Jain ji was also kept in jail for three years in a false case, and later the CBI and ED filed a closure report in court. This clearly shows that all the cases filed against the leaders of the Aam Aadmi Party are fake and fabricated,” CM Mann wrote.
Earlier today, the Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Atishi, called the ED raid a move to divert attention from the row over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s education degree.
Sharing an X post, Atishi wrote, “Why was there a raid at Saurabh ji’s place today? Because questions are being raised across the country about Modi ji’s degree — is Modi ji’s degree fake? The raid was conducted to divert attention from this discussion.”
Citing the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) closure report in the PWD corruption case against Satyendar Jain, Atishi claimed that the cases against AAP leaders are “false and politically motivated”.
“The case being cited pertains to a time when Saurabh ji was not even a minister. This means the entire case is baseless. Satyendar ji was also kept in jail for three years, and ultimately, CBI/ED had to submit a closure report. This clearly shows that all the cases against Aam Aadmi Party leaders are merely false and politically motivated,” the X post read.
The ED carried out searches at the residence of former Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj in connection with a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in hospital construction projects in the national capital.
The raids began early morning at 13 locations, including Bhardwaj’s residence, across the Delhi-NCR region, based on a certain tip-off in connection with the case.
The search operations are being carried out under Section 17 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA)