New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday claimed that a team of Election Commission (EC) officials reached Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's Kapurthala House residence in Delhi for a search.
A team of Election Commission (EC) officials was present at Mann's Kapurthala House to conduct a search at the premises, the AAP said in a statement. The development comes a day after a private vehicle bearing the "Punjab government" sticker and registration number of the state was seized by the Delhi Police.
Delhi Police has registered a case after the vehicle parked near the Punjab Bhawan was found loaded with liquor, cash and election publicity materials of the AAP.
Delhi Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Atishi lashed out at the BJP saying the people of Delhi will give a befitting reply to them on February 5. In a post on X, Atishi said, "Delhi Police has reached to raid Bhagwant Mann house ji's house in Delhi. BJP people are distributing money, shoes, and bedsheets in broad daylight - that is not visible. Instead, they go to raid the residence of an elected Chief Minister. Wow BJP! The people of Delhi will give their answer on the 5th."
दिल्ली पुलिस @BhagwantMann जी के दिल्ली के घर पर रेड करने पहुँच गई है।
— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) January 30, 2025
भाजपा वाले दिन दहाड़े पैसे, जूते, चद्दर बांट रहे हैं- वो नहीं दिखता। बल्कि एक चुने हुए मुख्यमंत्री के निवास पर रेड करने पहुँच जाते हैं।
वाह री भाजपा! दिल्ली वाले 5 तारीख़ को जवाब देंगे!
Mann described the raid as very condemnable. In a post on X, the Punjab Chief Minister hit out at the Election Commission and the Delhi Police. He said, "Today, the Election Commission team along with Delhi Police has come to raid my house Kapurthala House in Delhi. BJP people are openly distributing money in Delhi but Delhi Police and Election Commission are not seeing anything. No action is being taken on all this. In a way, Delhi Police and Election Commission are defaming Punjabis at the behest of BJP, which is very condemnable."
Voting for the Delhi Assembly polls will be held on February 5, while the counting of votes will be taken up on February 8. There are 70 Assembly seats in Delhi. The AAP has been in power for a decade and is aiming to retain power in the national capital. The BJP and the Congress is hoping to snatch the power from AAM led by former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
आज दिल्ली पुलिस के साथ चुनाव आयोग की टीम दिल्ली में मेरे घर कपूरथला हाउस रेड करने पहुँची है। दिल्ली के अंदर भाजपा वाले खुले आम पैसे बाँट रहे हैं पर दिल्ली पुलिस और चुनाव आयोग को कुछ नहीं दिख रहा है। इस सब पर कोई कार्यवाही नहीं हो रही।
— Bhagwant Mann (@BhagwantMann) January 30, 2025
एक तरिके से दिल्ली पुलिस और चुनाव आयोग भाजपा…
The District Election Office, New Delhi District, however, claimed that the Flying Squad Team was not being allowed to enter the Kapurthala House by security personnel to verify the complaint of alleged violations of Model Code of Conduct.
In a post on X, the District Election Office, New Delhi District stated, "This is to clarify the actions taken in response to cVIGIL Complaint ID 1282744 regarding the alleged distribution of cash at Kapurthala House, New Delhi which falls under the jurisdiction of AC-40, New Delhi. The complaint was received via the cVIGIL app, a platform where any citizen can report alleged violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). As per standard protocol, the Flying Squad Team (FST) of New Delhi AC, stationed nearby was assigned the task by the Control Room to investigate the complaint and close it by taking appropriate action within the stipulated 100-minute timeframe. Upon receiving the complaint, the FST promptly reached the location of the alleged violation at Kapurthala House. However, the team is not being permitted by the security personnel to enter the premises to verify the complaint."
