AAP Protests Against BJP Govt’s Misuse of ED-CBI; Burns Effigy Of PM Modi

Chandigarh, October 7, 2026: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab on Wednesday held large-scale protests in Patiala, Amritsar, Ludhiana and Barnala against the alleged misuse of central investigating agencies like the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) by the BJP-led Central government. AAP ministers, MLAs, leaders and karyakartas took to the streets, raising their voice against the politics of pressure and intimidation being pursued by the Modi government against Opposition-ruled states.
Addressing the protests, AAP leaders said that the BJP-led Central government was using agencies like the ED and CBI as political weapons wherever the people had elected non-BJP governments. They said similar tactics had earlier been witnessed in states such as West Bengal and Jharkhand and alleged that a similar conspiracy was now being orchestrated in Punjab to defame the government led by CM Bhagwant Singh Mann and obstruct its development-oriented work.
Punjab Health Minister Dr Balbir Singh said that the CBI was made to conduct raids at eight locations in Punjab with the sole intention of defaming the Bhagwant Mann government, but the agency returned empty-handed. “The BJP got the CBI to conduct raids at eight locations to defame the Mann government, but nothing was found. The people of Punjab have seen through this entire drama. If the BJP is genuinely concerned about corruption, then why are the ED and CBI silent in Haryana, where a scam worth ₹650 crore has taken place? This entire exercise is aimed at diverting attention from the questions being raised against the Election Commission and the BJP itself,” he said.
Leading the protest in Amritsar, AAP MLA Jeevan Jyot Kaur said the BJP had effectively sounded the poll bugle by unleashing central agencies in Punjab ahead of the elections. “By getting ED and CBI raids conducted in Punjab, the BJP has sounded the poll bugle for the upcoming elections. The BJP cannot match the development work being done by the Mann government, so it wants to suppress the AAP through coercion and intimidation. Such tactics may work in some other states, but Punjabis will never tolerate this hooliganism,” she said.
In Ludhiana, party leaders led by MLA Ashok Parashar took out a massive protest march and burnt an effigy of the Modi government. Thousands of AAP volunteers and common people participated in the protest, carrying placards and raising questions over the role of central agencies and their use against political opponents.
Ludhiana East MLA Daljit Singh Bhola Grewal said the BJP government at the Centre was attempting to stop AAP and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann by misusing central agencies. “The BJP government is trying to stop the AAP and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann by misusing agencies like the ED and CBI. The BJP is rattled by the guarantees fulfilled and the development work carried out by the AAP government in Punjab, which is why such completely unjustified and coercive action is being taken. BJP leaders should remember that Punjabis made even the British government bow down. Punjabis are not going to be afraid of the BJP,” he said.
During the protest in Barnala, AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said the BJP’s method of using central agencies during elections was well known across the country. “Everyone knows the BJP’s method and history of contesting elections over the past 14 years. When elections are held, other political parties hold meetings with their respective wings to prepare for them. The BJP, however, pushes forward the ED and CBI, which are working like wings of its party, and gets actions initiated through them,” he said.
Meet Hayer said the AAP had already anticipated that the BJP would resort to such tactics in the months preceding the Punjab elections. “We already knew that three to four months before the elections in Punjab, the BJP would do exactly this. We are fully prepared to firmly confront their hooliganism. In Delhi, Bengal and other states too, attempts were made to influence elections by creating fear of central agencies and through vote-related manipulation. During the nearly five-year tenure of the Punjab government, the BJP could not find any issue of corruption against us. That is why conspiracies are now being hatched to manufacture issues and defame the Aam Aadmi Party,” he said.
Meet Hayer said the BJP lacked the courage to seek votes in Punjab’s villages on the basis of development and public issues. “The BJP cannot seek votes from the people of Punjab on the basis of its work. In electricity, canal water, hospitals, sports grounds and roads, the work done by the Aam Aadmi Party government has left the opposition parties nowhere in comparison. The BJP neither has candidates to contest elections in all 117 constituencies nor karyakartas to deploy at polling booths,” he said.
“Votes will not be cast by the ED or CBI. Votes will be cast by the people of Punjab, and Punjabis cannot be bought or intimidated. The people of Punjab have made up their minds to re-elect Bhagwant Singh Mann as their Chief Minister,” Meet Hayer said.