Punjab Election 2022: ED raids CM Channi's nephew, others in sand mining case
The Congress and other Opposition parties have often accused the BJP-led Centre of utilising central investigation agencies like the ED and CBI to coerce and silence its opponents.
FollowThe Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided various locations in Punjab on Tuesday as part of a money-laundering investigation into illicit sand mining enterprises, just a month before the state's Assembly elections. The investigation agency also searched the home of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi's nephew Bhupinder Singh Honey in Mohali.
According to PTI, authorities from the federal agency conducted searches at 10-12 places in the state and took action under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The raids came ahead of the state's Assembly elections, which are set to take place on February 20. The Congress and other Opposition parties have often accused the BJP-led Centre of utilising central investigation agencies like the ED and CBI to coerce and silence its opponents.
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According to authorities, the Enforcement Directorate has filed a money laundering case and examines many persons with political ties. Illegal sand mining has been one of the campaign's focal focuses in Punjab. Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh has accused the ruling Congress of having ties to trafficking. Amarinder Singh, who resigned as Chief Minister in September, claims that all Congress MLAs are implicated in the illegal sand trade. Singh also told reporters that he had contacted Congress President Sonia Gandhi about the engaged MLAs.
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The single-phase votes in all 117 seats in Punjab were delayed from February 14 to February 20 due to requests by political parties in the state for a change due to Guru Ravi Das Jayanti, which is held on February 16. In a letter to Chief Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra, the chief minister stated that conducting the elections on February 14 may prevent around 20 lakh people from registering to vote.
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