Punjab Minister Aman Arora on Wednesday, 2 September accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of resorting to repeated letters, selective media leaks, and unclear allegations to malign the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership in Punjab, rather than furnishing substantive evidence. Arora, who also serves as the State AAP President, made the remarks in Chandigarh, sharply escalating the war of words between the Punjab government and the central agency.

Punjab Police's Demand for Evidence

Arora stated that the Punjab Police had already written to the ED on 28 August, formally seeking complete documentary and electronic evidence to support the agency's allegations. He said the material provided so far was either unclear or not readable, and that the police had specifically asked the ED to depute an officer with the relevant material by 1 September — a request that reportedly went unmet, with no officer appearing as requested.

According to Arora, the Punjab Police communicated clearly to the ED that until complete evidence, documents, and electronic data seized during searches are provided, a proper investigation cannot be conducted.

Names Floated Without Established Wrongdoing, Arora Alleges

The minister alleged that the ED is deliberately floating the names of AAP leaders — including Sanjeev Arora, Lal Chand Kataruchak, and himself — in the media without establishing any wrongdoing. He also noted that attempts have reportedly been made to reach him through his long-time friend Gaurav Dhir.

Arora characterised the repeated communications sent by the ED to Punjab Director General of Police Gaurav Yadav — including its latest letter seeking registration of a first information report (FIR) under Section 66(2) — as reflecting the 'desperation and frustration' of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government.

The Altus Project CLU Chronology

Presenting what he described as a factual chronology of the case, Arora said that change of land use (CLU) approvals relating to the Altus project were granted on six occasions, and not a single CLU was granted during the tenure of the AAP government. He listed the approval dates as 17 November 2000, 14 May 2012, 25 June 2013, 17 February 2018, 7 March 2018, and 7 March 2022 — all, he said, falling under previous Congress or Akali-BJP governments.

Arora further said layout plans for the project were changed multiple times between 2011 and 2025, with several alterations occurring under those earlier administrations. 'If the ED believes these approvals and changes were illegal, it should investigate the entire chronology and not selectively target the AAP government,' he said.

BJP's 'Larger Aim', According to AAP

Arora alleged that the BJP's 'larger aim is to create chaos, intimidate political leadership and keep government officers under pressure so that the elected Punjab government could not function effectively.' This framing positions the ED's actions as politically motivated — a charge the BJP-led Centre has not yet publicly responded to, as of the time of this report.

This is not the first time AAP governments — in Punjab or Delhi — have accused the ED of acting as a political instrument of the Centre. The pattern of such allegations has intensified ahead of state election cycles, though the current dispute centres on an ongoing investigation rather than an electoral context.