High drama unfolded at Kapurthala House, a Punjab government property where the state’s chief minister stays during his visits to Delhi, on Thursday evening when an Election Commission of India’s flying surveillance team (FST) arrived to conduct a search following a complaint of “money distribution” filed on poll body’s cVIGIL platform.
The operation, carried out less than a week before polling in Delhi, triggered a fierce war of words between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
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Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann alleged that the raid was politically motivated, while the AAP slammed the move as “BJP’s hooliganism,” accusing ECI of ignoring “blatant violations by the BJP” while subjecting Punjab’s chief minister to an “insult”.
ECI defended the operation, stating it was following protocol, and stated that the search could not be conducted as the rooms in the premises were locked.
The BJP alleged that complaints regarding “large-scale cash distribution from Kapurthala House” had led to the operation. It further alleged that Punjab Police manhandled ECI officials, who were allowed to enter after three hours.
The controversy began when the FST, accompanied by Delhi Police, reached Kapurthala House at around 4.15pm to act on what is said was a complaint raised on cVIGIL. The app, open to the public, allows citizens to report Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations. ECI did not disclose the identity of the complainant.
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However, the personnel at Kapurthala House refused to let the team enter.
For over two hours, officials and security personnel remained stationed outside, until two officers were eventually allowed inside around 6.25pm, according to a Delhi Police officer.
The officers left 15 minutes later without conducting a search.
“We were told we could check the periphery of Kapurthala House, but there were locks on the doors inside. A proper search was not conducted,” New Delhi assembly constituency returning officer OP Pandey later told reporters.
A senior EC official, who requested anonymity, clarified that the commission does not conduct raids but acts on public complaints received via cVIGIL. “The complaint mentioned money distribution, which must be addressed within 100 minutes, hence the team’s visit,” the official said.
The search operation comes a day after the Delhi Police said they seized a car with a Punjab sticker with unaccounted cash and liquor in New Delhi’s Copernicus Marg. However, Punjab DIPR clarified that the car’s number plate was forged and does not belong to the Punjab government.
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Meanwhile, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann alleged Thursday’s raid was politically motivated.
“BJP leaders are openly distributing money in Delhi, yet the Election Commission and Delhi Police turn a blind eye. Instead, they attempt to defame Punjabis at the BJP’s behest which is very condemnable,” he posted on X.
AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal lashed out at the BJP and the EC. “Look at the BJP’s open hooliganism. BJP leaders are openly distributing money, jackets, saris, and shoes, yet the police and the Election Commission act blind… On the other hand, they are raiding the house of the Punjab CM without any evidence. If this is not hooliganism then what is?” he posted on X.
However, the district election officer (New Delhi) clarified that a complaint was received via the cVIGIL app.
“As per standard protocol, the Flying Squad Team (FST) of New Delhi AC, stationed nearby, was assigned the task by the control room to investigate the complaint and close it by taking appropriate action within the stipulated 100-minute timeframe. Upon receiving the complaint, the FST promptly reached the location of the alleged violation at Kapurthala House. However, the team was not permitted inside by the security personnel to verify the complaint,” the statement added.
The EC officials and security personnel remained stationed outside the gate of the Kapurthala house for almost two hours when two officers with security went inside.
The team was expected to carry out an inspection including videography of the premises.
However, 15 minutes later, the officers came out and said that they were allowed through the main gate but not inside the main residence building. They left around 6.50pm.
Returning officer of New Delhi assembly constituency OP Pandey told media outside Kapurthala House, “We were told that we can check the periphery here (Kapurthala House). There were locks on the doors of the rooms… The search could not be conducted.”
Mann, hoever, refuted the claim, saying that “the entire house was searched.” “They even checked the clothes boxes of the women in my family. Will you tell me what was found?…Raiding the house of a Chief Minister like this is highly condemnable,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh alleged a targeted campaign to defame Punjabis and Sikhs. “CM Mann’s wife and mother were home, yet the EC and Delhi Police searched every corner and found nothing. Meanwhile, BJP’s Pravesh Verma is openly distributing money — why don’t they raid his house?” he said.
As the political slugfest intensified, Kejriwal doubled down with a post on X.“What did the EC find in the raid? When will they dare to raid BJP leaders who are openly distributing money and goods?” he said.
Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said “by preventing election officials from entering Kapurthala House, the Punjab Police protected Punjab’s leaders from investigation, which is both disgraceful and a blatant attack on democracy.”
“By the time they entered, an “Operation Clean-up” had already taken place, and no illegal material was found,” he said.
On Wednesday, the Delhi BJP had alleged that cash, liquor and AAP election material was seized from a “Punjab government car”, which was denied by the AAP.