Decode Politics: Why AAP vs Centre flares up over ED action on GMADA | Political Pulse News

The ruling AAP has rejected these allegations as “baseless” and “politically-motivated”, accusing the BJP-led Centre of using its agencies against the Bhagwant Mann-led government ahead of the state Assembly elections.

How ED raided GMADA?

The ED began its search and survey operation at the GMADA headquarters in Mohali Tuesday, which continued through Wednesday night and ended on Thursday.

The ED personnel questioned eight senior GMADA officials. Their mobile phones were cloned with the agency scanning computers, servers and official records. The agency also seized many electronic devices and documents.

These raids were part of the ED’s wider operations at multiple locations in Delhi, Mohali, Chandigarh, Panchkula and Ludhiana in connection with its money-laundering investigations linked to Tirupati Infra Projects.

The ED’s marathon raids at the GMADA offices triggered a battle between the Mann government and the agency as well as the BJP.

The AAP government approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court alleging that its officials were being detained. The court appointed a warrant officer to check the scenario at the GMADA premises. However, the officials told the warrant officer that they had not been illegally detained or pressured.

What is GMADA’s significance?

GMADA is one of Punjab’s key urban development authorities, which deals with master plans, land acquisition, development, allotment and auction of residential and commercial properties in and around Mohali. It also controls a large land bank around Mohali and adjoining areas. Its decisions on acquisition, pricing and auction of land involve transactions worth hundreds of crores.

The ED’s investigation, however, did not originally begin as a case against GMADA. It has stemmed from the CBI case in an alleged bank fraud involving Tirupati Infra Projects. During its probe, the ED says it came across material relating to GMADA’s land transactions.

Interestingly, last month, the AAP’s Anandpur Sahib MP Malvinder Singh Kang described GMADA as a “den of corruption” and a “centre of loot”. He alleged selective demolition of illegal structures by the Authority, demanding the transfer of officials who had remained posted in it for long periods.

Why ED alleges ‘Rs 10,000 cr scam’?

The biggest allegation concerns GMADA’s unsold land. The ED has alleged that reserve prices of some unsold GMADA land were “deliberately reduced” before auctions. The agency has claimed that this could have resulted in a potential loss of nearly Rs 10,000 crore to GMADA and the Punjab government. The figure is the ED’s estimate of potential loss, not a finding that this amount was actually lost.

The agency has also alleged irregularities in land acquisition awards and compensation, reallotment of cancelled plots, and concessions to private developers.

One transaction under scrutiny involves Remigate Infra Developers. The ED has alleged that statutory dues and penal interest were waived, benefiting the company by an amount between Rs 40 crore and Rs 57 crore.

During the searches, the ED examined official files as well as electronic devices and computer systems. The agency has also claimed that material recovered from seized mobile phones contained conversations relating to alleged hawala transactions involving relatives of some Punjab politicians.

Why Delhi AAP leaders land in row?

The ED has alleged that former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain held regular “unofficial” meetings with GMADA officials. According to the agency, matters relating to the Authority’s master plans, fresh auctions, land acquisition and compensation were discussed at these meetings.

The agency has also alleged that officials carried files from GMADA’s PUDA Bhawan in Mohali for meetings with Jain and his OSD Amarender Jha at a government bungalow in Sector 39, Chandigarh. The house was officially allotted to AAP leader Sunny Singh Ahluwalia, chairman of the Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board. The agency has accused Jain of using it for meetings with GMADA officials.

In a statement issued Thursday, the ED claimed that “searches have revealed that AAP leaders Satyendar Jain and Manish Sisodia have been regularly holding unofficial meeting with GMADA officials regarding the master plans and site auctions. Critical decisions including fresh auctions and acquisitions by GMADA as well as determination of compensation were all taken informally under the instructions of Jain”.

Jain is the AAP’s Punjab co-incharge while Sisodia has also been overseeing the party’s Punjab affairs for a long time.

The AAP has rejected the allegations against Jain and Sisodia, calling reports of their meetings with GMADA officials “completely false, baseless and politically motivated”. It says neither leader has any role in GMADA’s projects, functioning or official matters.

AAP vs Oppn flare-up

The row has fuelled the conflict between the AAP and the Opposition parties in the run-up to the Punjab elections due in February 2027.

BJP leader and ex-Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said in an X post that the ED action at the GMADA headquarters was “proof that the Bhagwant Mann government’s claims are limited merely to advertisements”. “Those who have looted Punjab’s treasury and the rights of the people will be brought to justice under the law at all costs. The Modi government’s zero tolerance policy against corruption is clear,” he said.

The Congress’s Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa demanded answers from CM Mann over the alleged Rs 10,000 crore potential loss. He asked “who fixed the reserve prices, who took the decisions and who benefited”.

SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also demanded that every file and link be investigated.

The AAP has questioned the basis of the ED action. It has maintained that there was no FIR or predicate offence against GMADA.