Punjab Minister Mundian Hits Back at Bittu Over ED Raid Remarks

A political row has broken out in Punjab after Cabinet Minister Hardeep Singh Mundian and former Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu traded barbs over the Enforcement Directorate's searches at the residence of Mundian's nephew in Sahnewal.

The dispute began when Bittu alleged that Mundian had left the country for the United States while the ED was carrying out its search. The claim drew a sharp response from the minister, who dismissed it and challenged the BJP leader to verify his whereabouts before making such statements.

"I am addressing this press conference from the party office in Sector 39, Chandigarh, not from America," Mundian said, directly countering the allegation.

The minister also took a sarcastic swipe at Bittu, alleging that after losing his political prospects, the BJP leader had effectively opened a "travel agency" near his residence and had already "booked tickets" to send him and his nephew abroad. He further accused Bittu of spreading incorrect information before the media, clarifying that Gurpreet Singh alias Prince, whose Sahnewal residence was searched, is his nephew and not his nephew-in-law as Bittu had allegedly described.

The exchange has turned the ED action into a direct political confrontation between the ruling AAP and the BJP in the state. While Bittu used the raids to question the minister's whereabouts, Mundian sought to turn the allegation back on the former Union Minister by appearing before the media in Chandigarh and disputing his version of events.

The searches are linked to an ED investigation into alleged money laundering in connection with GMADA and associated entities. Mundian has alleged that the central agency's action is being used to exert political pressure on him and his party.

For Bittu, the issue has become an opportunity to target the AAP government over an investigation involving a serving minister's relative. For Mundian, the immediate political battle is over the allegation that he had fled abroad during the ED searches. The war of words has shifted the spotlight from the raids themselves to a personal political faceoff.