AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, 9 June 2026, accused the Enforcement Directorate of targeting small Hindu traders in Punjab, calling the agency the 'ED party' and urging affected businesspersons not to panic.

Context

In a post on X, Kejriwal alleged that the central agency was once again conducting raids on small Hindu traders in Punjab. Using the phrase 'ED party' — a term opposition leaders deploy to suggest the agency acts as an arm of the ruling party at the Centre — he wrote: 'The ED party is again conducting ED raids on Hindu traders of Punjab today. The ED party is harassing small Hindu traders of Punjab.'

He directly addressed the trader community: 'My appeal to all traders — there is nothing to panic about. The whole of Punjab and the Punjab government is with you. We will all together confront the ED party.'

Policy Backdrop

The Enforcement Directorate is a central agency under the Ministry of Finance mandated to investigate economic offences and money laundering. Since 2014, the agency has conducted multiple searches in states governed by opposition parties, including several against AAP figures in Delhi and Punjab.

In 2024, the ED arrested Kejriwal himself in connection with the Delhi excise policy case — a move AAP described as politically motivated. Opposition parties have consistently argued that ED actions in non-BJP-ruled states are selective and designed to destabilise elected state governments.

Stakeholders and Impact

AAP has governed Punjab since its landslide victory in the 2022 assembly elections, and the trading community — including small and mid-size Hindu business owners — forms a politically significant constituency in the state. Kejriwal's post positions the AAP-led Punjab government as a protector of local traders against central agency action.

By explicitly naming the community as 'Hindu traders,' Kejriwal appears to signal that the raids carry a communal dimension, a framing likely to resonate with trader associations and amplify political pressure on the Centre. The specific details of the raids alleged in the post could not be independently verified at the time of publication.

What's Next

Attention will now turn to any official response from the Enforcement Directorate clarifying the nature and targets of the searches, as well as possible statements from Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and trader bodies in the state. AAP is expected to escalate its political messaging around the issue, particularly given the party's track record of using such episodes to consolidate its support base among small business communities.