The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday conducted searches at multiple premises linked to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal in Punjab as part of a probe under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), officials said.
The action comes days after Mittal was appointed the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha.
Officials said the searches were carried out at business entities linked to Mittal in Jalandhar and Phagwara, apart from some other locations. The agency also searched his residence at 16, The Mall Road, Jalandhar Cantt, according to officials. The central agency has not yet issued a detailed statement on the scope of the searches, and further details are awaited.
Mittal, 61, is a businessman and educationist who heads the Lovely Group, which runs a university of the same name. He was recently elevated within the party’s parliamentary ranks following a leadership reshuffle in the Upper House.
The timing of the ED action has drawn attention as it follows the AAP’s formal move to restructure its leadership in the Rajya Sabha. The party had written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking the removal of Raghav Chadha as deputy leader and requested that he no longer be allotted speaking time from the party’s quota.
Speaking earlier on the leadership change, Mittal had described such transitions as routine. “Earlier, ND Gupta ji was deputy leader, then Raghav ji took over, and now I have been given the responsibility. Tomorrow, someone else may get the opportunity,” he had said.
An academic-turned-politician, Mittal entered active politics in 2022 and was elected to the Rajya Sabha the same year. He has since served on several parliamentary committees, including Defence and Finance, and has also been part of international parliamentary delegations.
The AAP currently has 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha, including seven from Punjab and three from Delhi.
Punjab CM condemns ED raids
Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann strongly condemned the ED raids at business entities linked to Mittal, alleging that the BJP has begun its "preparations" for the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
Reacting to the raids, Mann, in a post on X in Hindi, said, "BJP begins preparations for Punjab elections. ED raids at the home and university of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal... typical Modi style." Quoting a well-known couplet in the same post, the chief minister wrote, "Hum vo patte nahin, jo shakh se tut kar gir jayenge. Andhiyon ko keh do apni aukaat mein rahen" (We are not leaves that will fall off the branch; tell the storms to remain within their limits)." Punjab Assembly elections are due early next year.
