Punjab Newsline | Gurugram
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday travelled from Delhi to Gurugram and met jailed Punjab Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora at Bhondsi Jail. The meeting comes as Arora continues to remain in judicial custody in connection with an Enforcement Directorate (ED) case.
Mann had earlier met Arora in jail on May 23, along with Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal.
ED arrested Arora on May 9 following raids in connection with allegations related to fake billing and financial transactions. He was arrested from his government residence in Chandigarh, after which a court sent him to judicial custody at Bhondsi Jail in Haryana.
Arora’s bail plea has already been rejected by the lower court, while his petition before the Punjab and Haryana High Court is currently pending.
Despite Arora having spent around four months in jail, the Punjab government has not removed him from the Cabinet. The AAP and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have repeatedly accused the BJP-led Centre of misusing central investigative agencies to target leaders and ministers of opposition-ruled states.
AAP and Punjab government have described the ED action against Arora as part of a political conspiracy. The party has alleged that central agencies are being used against political opponents.
Monday’s meeting is being seen as another show of support for Arora by the Punjab government and the AAP leadership, signalling that the party continues to stand by its minister while his legal team fights the case and seeks bail.
