EC officials should have been stern with security staff at Bhagwant Mann residence, says BJP's Bittu

New Delhi: EC officials who had gone to search Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's official residence in Delhi were made to wait outside because they were not stern with his security staff, Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said on Friday.

A high drama unfolded outside Mann's Delhi residence on Thursday as Election Commission (EC) officials tried to conduct a search of the premises following allegation that money was being distributed from the property ahead of the February 5 assembly polls.

After more than two hours, the EC team, accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, returned empty-handed.

"The EC officials were made to wait outside Kapurthala House for two hours and the media saw that happening," Bittu said.

"I think the EC team should have sternly dealt with the security officials and gone inside," he added, alleging that the illegal cash was siphoned off in official vehicles from the rear gate during those two hours.

Kapurthala House is the Punjab chief minister's official residence in Delhi.

The BJP leader alleged that builders and industrialists from Punjab called to inform him that the state's AAP government was extorting and threatening them.

"Bhagwant Mann has besmirched the reputation of Sikhs and Punjabis and he is behaving like a puppet of (AAP supremo Arvind) Kejriwal," Bittu said.

Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly will be held on February 5 and the votes counted on February 8.

Delhi Assembly Election 2025 | The first of two state assembly polls this year sees a three-way contest between AAP, Congress, and BJP in the nation's capital. AAP decided to contest the polls alone, causing rumours of a rift in I.N.D.I.A. BJP, meanwhile, is hoping the liquor excise policy scam and pollution in Delhi will give the saffron party an edge over AAP. Kejriwal, on the other hand, has different plans with his demand for reservations for Delhi Jats. Congress will also be looking to make its presence felt and has not held back from attacking its own alliance partner. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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