The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated a raid on the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora in Ludhiana, Punjab, amid allegations of land fraud. This operation, conducted early Monday morning, is connected to a piece of land that was originally allocated to Arora for industrial development by the Punjab government several years ago. However, sources within the ED revealed that the terms of the agreement were allegedly violated, as the land was instead utilized for a residential project.
Sanjeev Arora, who is a prominent industrialist involved in real estate and hosiery, took to social media platform X to address the situation. He expressed his commitment to cooperating fully with the investigating agencies and emphasized his status as a law-abiding citizen. Arora's acknowledgment of the search operation reflects a willingness to engage with the authorities, even amidst the mounting allegations against him.
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia publicly condemned the raid, asserting that it is part of a broader campaign by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to target AAP leaders. Sisodia highlighted that over the past two years, multiple AAP figures, including Arvind Kejriwal and Sanjay Singh, have faced similar raids, which he claimed resulted in no substantial evidence of wrongdoing. He accused the ED of fabricating cases to undermine the credibility of the AAP, stating, “These people will go to any extent to break the Aam Aadmi Party.”
The ED has also executed raids at the residences of other prominent figures, including Hemant Sood, a notable real estate baron in Ludhiana, and Pardeep Aggarwal, owner of Royal City. The AAP has vowed to stand firm against what they describe as attempts to intimidate and disrupt their party.