{"id":63811,"date":"2026-04-17T21:11:57","date_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/?p=63811"},"modified":"2026-04-17T21:12:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T15:42:50","slug":"ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/","title":{"rendered":"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab"},"content":{"rendered":"

ED being used to target non-BJP states, democracy cannot be bulldozed through fear: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann<\/span><\/p>\n

Truth will prevail: Sanjeev Arora<\/span><\/p>\n

BJP has turned ED into tool to threaten opposition & crush dissent: Harpal Singh Cheema<\/span><\/p>\n

ED raids timed with elections, BJP targeting those who dare to disagree: Harbhajan Singh ETO<\/span><\/p>\n

BJP misusing agencies to crush AAP, but such tactics only make us stronger: Dr Balbir Singh<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Chandigarh News (17 April 2026):<\/span> The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab strongly condemned the Enforcement Directorate (ED) action at the premises of Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora, calling it yet another example of the BJP-led Central Government\u2019s blatant misuse of central agencies to intimidate opposition leaders and destabilise non-BJP governments.<\/p>\n

Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, while addressing the media, called out the central government for \u201ccontinuously strangling democracy.\u201d He questioned the selective targeting by central agencies, stating, \u201cWhy are ED raids conducted only in those states where BJP is not in power? Those who raise their voice for people\u2019s rights and work for public welfare are either served ED notices or sent to jail.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Punjab CM asserted that such tactics would not succeed in silencing democratic voices. \u201cDemocracy cannot be crushed through fear and pressure. From the revolutionary land of Punjab, I want to make it clear that wherever there is injustice, we will stand firm against it. This is not a fight of an individual, but a fight to protect our Constitution and the country, and this battle will continue,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora maintained a composed stance and reaffirmed his faith in due process. \u201cAs a responsible citizen, I will fully cooperate with the agencies and I am confident that the truth will prevail,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema stated, \u201cBJP is misusing the ED to threaten governments in non-BJP states. Using ED to pressure opposition leaders has now become their political strategy to suppress every voice of dissent. This is extremely dangerous for our democratic traditions.\u201d He further added that BJP\u2019s politics is based on \u201cintimidation, threats, and capturing power at any cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, Cabinet Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO echoed similar concerns, highlighting the timing of such actions. \u201cWhenever elections approach, BJP suddenly remembers the ED and raids begin at the homes of opposition leaders. Whether it is Sanjeev Arora or MP Ashok Mittal, the target is always those who politically disagree with BJP. This is not investigation, but politics of vendetta,\u201d he said. He warned that weaponising central agencies poses a serious threat to democracy, pushing the country towards authoritarianism.<\/p>\n

Health Minister Dr. Balbir Singh termed the raid a \u201cblatant abuse of agencies\u201d aimed at crushing AAP Punjab. \u201cSuch tactics have always failed to destroy us. They only make us stronger. Arvind Kejriwal\u2019s Aam Aadmi Party is the true national opposition and a real alternative to BJP,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

AAP Punjab leaders unanimously stated that the people of the country are witnessing how central agencies are being misused to silence opposition voices. The party reaffirmed its commitment to stand firmly against what it described as \u201cpolitics of fear and vendetta,\u201d vowing to continue its fight to safeguard democracy and constitutional values.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ED being used to target non-BJP states, democracy cannot be bulldozed through fear: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann Truth will prevail: Sanjeev Arora BJP has turned ED into tool to threaten opposition & crush dissent: Harpal Singh Cheema ED raids timed with elections, BJP targeting those who dare to disagree: Harbhajan Singh ETO BJP misusing agencies […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,37,21,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-63811","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest","category-national","category-political-news","category-punjab"],"yoast_head":"\nED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"ED being used to target non-BJP states, democracy cannot be bulldozed through fear: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann Truth will prevail: Sanjeev Arora BJP has turned ED into tool to threaten opposition & crush dissent: Harpal Singh Cheema ED raids timed with elections, BJP targeting those who dare to disagree: Harbhajan Singh ETO BJP misusing agencies […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"PunjabENews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T15:41:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-17T15:42:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1066\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/\",\"name\":\"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-17T15:41:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-17T15:42:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/ac7e9b01000e370ed073f051663cc35d\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1066},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/\",\"name\":\"PunjabENews\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/ac7e9b01000e370ed073f051663cc35d\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f10c2ae8893861bd114957fb4ca76c826185be673c84916e05fed7cbf99b32b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f10c2ae8893861bd114957fb4ca76c826185be673c84916e05fed7cbf99b32b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews","og_description":"ED being used to target non-BJP states, democracy cannot be bulldozed through fear: CM Bhagwant Singh Mann Truth will prevail: Sanjeev Arora BJP has turned ED into tool to threaten opposition & crush dissent: Harpal Singh Cheema ED raids timed with elections, BJP targeting those who dare to disagree: Harbhajan Singh ETO BJP misusing agencies […]","og_url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/","og_site_name":"PunjabENews","article_published_time":"2026-04-17T15:41:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-17T15:42:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1066,"url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/","url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/","name":"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab - PunjabENews","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-17T15:41:57+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-17T15:42:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/ac7e9b01000e370ed073f051663cc35d"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/IMG-20240425-WA0040.jpg","width":1600,"height":1066},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/punjab\/ed-raids-reflect-bjps-desperation-to-crush-opposition-voices-aap-punjab\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ED raids reflect BJP\u2019s desperation to crush opposition voices: AAP Punjab"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#website","url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/","name":"PunjabENews","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/ac7e9b01000e370ed073f051663cc35d","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f10c2ae8893861bd114957fb4ca76c826185be673c84916e05fed7cbf99b32b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5f10c2ae8893861bd114957fb4ca76c826185be673c84916e05fed7cbf99b32b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English"],"url":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63811","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=63811"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63811\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63813,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/63811\/revisions\/63813"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=63811"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=63811"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/punjabenews.com\/English\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=63811"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}