New Delhi, April 15 (NationPress) The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Samajwadi Party (SP) have leveled allegations against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the alleged misuse of central agencies to undermine the Opposition in light of upcoming elections in Punjab. This comes after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at the business and residential properties of AAP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal.

Mittal, who recently took over the role of Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha from AAP's Raghav Chadha, faced scrutiny as raids were executed at various sites linked to the Lovely Group, which he leads, located in both Jalandhar and Phagwara, Punjab.

In response to the ED's actions, SP MP Rajeev Rai stated, "Perhaps if he (Mittal) had not been appointed as AAP's Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, this situation might not have arisen."

"Similar raids occurred against me prior to the Uttar Pradesh elections," he added.

Speaking with IANS, Rai expressed concern that the central agencies are losing public trust and damaging their reputation. "When a government loses faith in democracy and its citizens, it resorts to using these agencies for intimidation and coercion," he remarked.

Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema accused the BJP of routinely misusing agencies such as the ED, CBI, and the Election Commission during elections across various states. "As we approach elections in Punjab, the BJP has also initiated these tactics here," he asserted.

AAP leader Anurag Dhanda shared a similar perspective with IANS, saying, "It appears the BJP has begun its election strategy in Punjab. This reflects their modus operandi; they prefer leveraging ED, CBI, and voter deletions over winning votes, which indicates their declining popularity among the electorate."

AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar emphasized that political coincidences are rare, suggesting that Chadha's involvement is noteworthy. "We have received reports that top BJP leaders recently met with Raghav Chadha and decided that he would receive Z+ security, and that raids would occur at Ashok Mittal's residence," she claimed.

Kakkar, labeling the situation as 'unfortunate', reminded that AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal elevated a common party worker to the Rajya Sabha.

Conversely, Sunil Jakhar, President of Punjab BJP, accused AAP of corruption within the state, referencing a recent Punjab and Haryana High Court directive that questioned the AAP government over its failure to register an FIR concerning a multi-crore scam in a post-matric scholarship program for Scheduled Caste students.

Jakhar urged that the ED raids should be contextualized accordingly, noting the scam transpired during the Congress administration in Punjab.