Chandigarh, Oct 23 Days after AAP claimed that the Punjab Chief Minister was detained at the Delhi airport upon his return from Paris and fined Rs 50,000, Bhagwant Mann on Friday targeted the BJP-led Centre, alleging “this is how they take revenge”.
He alleged that he was made to sit for two hours and claimed that the head of the Customs Department at the Delhi airport was the brother of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
Punjab BJP state general secretary Anil Sarin hit back at Mann, challenging him to explain why the Customs Department fined him and demanding that he make the receipt public.
Sarin questioned what the chief minister had brought back from abroad that prompted the Customs Department to take action.
Participating in a debate on an official resolution on the second day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann alleged that upon his return from France, the officials at the Delhi airport took him to one side and made him sit for two hours.
“I asked them to follow the protocol. Chief ministers from all states are received through a protocol as well,” he said.
“They said they would check luggage. When they found nothing, they said we could go,” he said.
“When I, along with my delegation, was leaving the airport, the officials cited that there was ‘pressure from above’. After this, they asked us to pay a Rs 50,000 fine and we told them that if it is a matter of your job, then they may impose the fine,” said Mann.
“Who is the Customs head at Delhi airport? It is Manish, brother of (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. This is how they take revenge,” he alleged, while hitting out at the Centre.
The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed an official resolution, seeking an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities concerning electoral processes and functioning of the Election Commission (EC) under CEC Kumar.
Punjab BJP leader Sarin said Mann could not evade accountability by claiming that the head of the Customs Department at Delhi Airport is the CEC’s brother.
He dismissed Mann’s claims as ridiculous, accusing him of attempting to mislead the public through baseless allegations.
The chief minister must first clarify which items led to him being stopped at Delhi airport and why the Customs Department imposed the fine. Before making allegations against others, Mann should come clean on the facts of the matter, he added.
Sarin further pointed out that passengers arriving at and departing from Delhi airport are routinely subjected to security checks and customs procedures.
He said while the chief minister might be exempt from personal screening under protocol, his luggage would not necessarily enjoy the same exemption.
The exemption, he added, would not automatically extend to members of his entourage either.
Sarin accused Mann of attempting to politicise the Customs Department’s action instead of providing a clear explanation of the incident.
Raising concerns over the Union government’s approach towards Punjab’s efforts to attract international investment, Mann said, “I have been working to present Punjab as a preferred investment destination before international business communities, highlighting the state’s industrial potential, skilled workforce and entrepreneurial spirit.”
He said the proposed foreign visit was intended to promote Punjab’s investment opportunities that had faced obstacles. Subsequent action against him raised questions requiring scrutiny, he added.
“Punjab’s economic progress must not be held hostage to political differences. Investment, employment and prosperity are directly linked to the future of our youth. Every effort to attract investment and create opportunities must be encouraged,” he said.
Mann further said he has been invited to attend the World Punjabi Conference in Lahore in Pakistan on November 27.
However, Mann took a swipe at the Centre, and said that if he was not allowed to visit France, how he would be allowed to visit Pakistan.
“Our culture is the same. Many poets from here will go there,” Mann said.
He further said he wanted all legislators of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha to visit Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan if the Kartarpur Corridor reopened.
The Kartarpur corridor, which facilitates devotees to pay obeisance at the historic gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, remained shut since May 7 last year when the Indian armed forces carried out pre-dawn missile strikes on nine terror targets in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Mann went to Paris after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed a state government plea challenging the Centre’s “arbitrary” decision denying him political clearance for the visit.
He participated in SIAL Paris 2026, an international food trade exhibition being held from October 17 to 21.
Expressing concern over India’s international economic direction, Mann warned that proposed trade arrangements could expose Indian agriculture to external pressure and allow American commercial interests to influence the future of Indian farmers.
“Punjab’s farmers have already demonstrated their determination to defend their livelihoods. They will not accept any arrangement that compromises their interests or undermines the future of Indian agriculture,” he said.
Mann stressed that trade agreements must not become a backdoor route for agricultural policies that farmers had previously rejected after a historic struggle.
(PTI News)
