ED using letters, media leaks to malign AAP instead of presenting evidence: Punjab minister Arora

Punjab AAP president and state minister Aman Arora on Wednesday, September 2, accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of attempting to malign the party's leadership through repeated letters, selective media leaks and "unclear" allegations instead of providing substantive evidence.

Arora said Punjab Police had already sought complete documentary and electronic evidence from the central agency but the ED had "failed to provide clear and usable evidence".

His remarks came after the ED wrote to the Punjab Police for the third time, seeking registration of an FIR against a private individual and others over allegations of influencing transfers and postings of government officials, securing arms licences and government approvals, and facilitating land deals.

The ED's communication was linked to a money laundering investigation into the alleged submission of fake consent letters to obtain change of land use (CLU) approval in a case involving a housing society.

The agency had conducted searches in May at the premises of Ajay Sehgal, secretary of the Indian Cooperative House Building Society, and others linked to the Suntec City Project.

The ED's third letter, dated August 31, followed a communication from Punjab Police seeking the deputation of an authorised ED officer along with complete records, including original electronic data, chain-of-custody documents and statements, before an FIR was registered.

The ED, however, maintained that the relevant material had already been shared through its communications dated July 30 and August 7.

Reacting to the latest letter, Arora alleged that the BJP's broader objective was to "create chaos, intimidate political leadership and keep government officers under pressure so that the elected government doesn’t function effectively".

"The repeated communications sent by the ED to the Punjab DGP, including its latest letter seeking the registration of an FIR under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, reflect the desperation and frustration of the BJP-led Centre," Arora alleged.

He said Punjab Police had written to the ED on August 28 seeking complete documentary and electronic evidence to substantiate the allegations.

According to Arora, the police had told the ED that the material provided so far was either unclear or unreadable and sought all documents and electronic data seized during the searches to enable a proper investigation.

The ED had been asked to send an officer along with the relevant material on September 1, but no such officer appeared, he claimed.

Taking a swipe at central investigative agencies, Arora recalled Prime Minister Narendra Modi's criticism of the CBI during his tenure as Gujarat chief minister, when Modi had described the agency as a "parrot" of the Centre.

"Today, I agree 100 per cent with what Narendra Modi had said. Be it the ED, CBI or other central agencies, they are all functioning like BJP’s parrots," Arora said.

He further alleged that the ED was deliberately circulating the names of AAP leaders, including Sanjeev Arora, Lal Chand Kataruchak and himself, in the media without establishing any wrongdoing against them.

Arora also claimed that attempts were being made to reach him through his long-time friend Gaurav Dhir.

On the land-use approvals, Arora said CLU permissions relating to the Altus project had been granted six times in the past, but none had been issued during the tenure of the AAP government.

"The approvals dated November 17, 2000, May 14, 2012, June 25, 2013, February 17, 2018, March 7, 2018, and March 7, 2022, came under the previous Congress or Akali-BJP governments," he said.

The minister also claimed that layout plans had been altered several times between 2011 and 2025, with several of the changes taking place under previous governments.

"If the ED believes these approvals and changes were illegal, it should investigate the entire chronology and not selectively target the AAP government," Arora said.

Calling for a thorough and impartial probe, Arora said the ED should examine the entire period during which the relevant approvals and policy decisions were made rather than selectively targeting the AAP government.