“Murder of Democracy”: AAP Accuses Centre of Misusing ED and CBI Against Opposition

The Aam Aadmi Party on Sunday launched statewide protests against the BJP-led Central Government, alleging misuse of central investigative agencies such as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), CBI and Income Tax Department to target opposition leaders and destabilize non-BJP governments. The protests were organized following the ED action against Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora. AAP leaders and workers staged demonstrations outside BJP offices across district headquarters in Punjab and raised slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP government. Demonstrations were reported from Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Mohali and several other parts of the state. During the protests, AAP leaders accused the BJP of using investigative agencies as political tools to intimidate elected governments and suppress the voice of the opposition. Protesters carried placards, shouted slogans against the Central Government and alleged that the BJP was attempting to crush every political force that refused to bow before it. In Hoshiarpur, AAP workers burned an effigy of Prime Minister Modi and termed the BJP’s actions as an “authoritarian and anti-democratic attack” on opposition parties. Protesters claimed that the BJP was trying to create fear through raids and coercive actions, but Punjab would not surrender to such tactics. Senior AAP leader and Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that the BJP had turned agencies like the ED, CBI and Income Tax Department into political weapons. 

He said that whenever the BJP faced political resistance or electoral setbacks, it unleashed central agencies against opposition leaders. Cheema further claimed that after targeting West Bengal, the BJP was now focusing on Punjab because it could not accept the growing popularity of AAP and the people-centric initiatives being undertaken by the Bhagwant Mann government. He alleged that the BJP was trying to weaken democratically elected governments through intimidation because it had failed to defeat them politically. In Patiala, Cabinet Minister Dr. Balbir Singh led a protest march and strongly criticized the BJP for what he described as “politics of fear and intimidation.” Similar demonstrations were also held in Mohali and other districts, where AAP workers gathered outside BJP offices and termed the action against Sanjeev Arora as politically motivated. Addressing protesters, Dr. Balbir Singh said the BJP’s politics revolved around threats, raids and coercion. He alleged that after AAP refused to bow before the Centre, pressure was first mounted on Punjab’s Rajya Sabha members and later Cabinet ministers were targeted. He said the BJP believed Punjab could be intimidated through ED, CBI and Income Tax raids, but added that Punjabis had a long history of standing against oppression and would give a strong response to such actions. Dr. Balbir Singh also questioned why raids against Rajya Sabha member Ashok Mittal allegedly stopped after he joined the BJP. According to him, this exposed the “real face” of the BJP, as agencies became active only against those who politically opposed the party. AAP leaders reiterated that the people of Punjab would not tolerate the alleged misuse of constitutional institutions for political vendetta. The party warned the BJP-led Central Government that attempts to destabilize Punjab through intimidation and revenge politics would fail. AAP leaders further said that party workers would continue raising their voice against what they called the “murder of democracy” by the Modi government.