Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addresses a public rally. File image: @BhagwantMann X/ANI Photo
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday (October 8, 2026) accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of launching its election campaign in Punjab through investigative agencies, even as he targeted the BJP over the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raid at his camp office two days ago.
Mr. Mann’s remark came after the Punjab and Haryana High Court directed the CBI to probe corruption allegations linked to his office. Subsequently, the CBI registered a case involving an officer on special duty (OSD) to the Punjab CM and other public servants.
Mr. Mann said that no amount of raids would yield “even a rupee” of corruption against his government. Addressing a press conference, he said “The CBI search at the Chief Minister’s Camp Office itself means that the Punjab Assembly elections will be held on time. The BJP has started preparing for the elections in Punjab and has chosen to begin its election campaign through the CBI.”
“The BJP is trying to create fear and tarnish the image of an elected government through central investigative agencies. But no matter how many raids they conduct, they will not find even a single rupee of corruption with us,” he alleged.
The BJP, meanwhile, hit back at the AAP. Former Punjab BJP state president and former Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik said that the people of Punjab now want answers, not political rhetoric. “The AAP government should explain why the situation reached the point where a CBI probe was ordered into the allegations of corruption.”
He said that the AAP government should stop linking the BJP’s name with the CBI probe and tell the public why the High Court ordered a CBI investigation. “The BJP did not order the CBI probe. There should be no attempt to give a political colour to the High Court’s order. Merely taking the BJP’s name does not make the allegations of corruption disappear. The government will have to answer the questions,” he said.
The CBI has booked as many as six persons, including two public servants, middlemen and associates, following the registration of the FIR in the matter. The CBI is probing the allegations of corruption against OSD to Punjab CM and his associates for influencing and manipulating postings of officers including that of IAS and IPS officers, departmental proceedings, matters pertaining to policy formulation, administrative approvals, tender conditions, licensing matters, land use conversion matters, property disputes, revenue and land related issues in lieu of pecuniary benefits.
Published – October 09, 2026 04:09 am IST
