Days after AAP claimed that the Punjab chief minister was detained at the Delhi airport upon his return from Paris and fined ₹50,000, Bhagwant Mann on Friday targeted the BJP-led Centre, alleging "this is how they take revenge."
He alleged that he was made to sit for two hours and claimed that the head of the customs department at the Delhi airport was the brother of the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Track live updates on Delhi protests
Participating in a debate on an official resolution on the second day of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha here, Mann alleged that upon his return from France, the officials at the Delhi airport took him to one side and made him sit for two hours.
"They said they would check luggage. When they found nothing, they said we could go," he said.
"When I, along with my delegation, was leaving the airport, the officials cited that there was 'pressure from above'. After this, they asked us to pay a ₹50,000 fine and we told them that if it is a matter of your job, then they may impose the fine," said Mann.
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"Who is the Customs head at Delhi airport? It is Manish, brother of (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar. This is how they take revenge," he alleged, while hitting out at the Centre.
The Punjab Assembly on Friday passed an official resolution, seeking an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities concerning electoral processes and functioning of the Election Commission (EC) under CEC Kumar.
Mann went to Paris after the Punjab and Haryana High Court allowed a state government plea challenging the Centre's "arbitrary" decision denying him political clearance for the visit.
He participated in SIAL Paris 2026, an international food trade exhibition being held from October 17 to 21.
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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had on Sunday claimed that Mann was detained at the Delhi airport upon his return from Paris and fined ₹50,000, with officials citing "tremendous pressure from above".
Punjab AAP media in-charge Baltej Pannu had linked the incident to the Centre's "repeated" denial of permission for Mann's foreign visits, among other things.
"He (Mann) had gone there to launch Punjab's famous products at the world's second-largest food festival," Pannu had claimed.
"When Mann returned from Paris and arrived at the Delhi airport, he was deliberately detained for three hours. Excuses were made that 'your luggage is still arriving' and 'your luggage is still being checked'. These were outright lies and an insult to Punjab," Pannu said.
He alleged that after three hours, when Mann was allowed to leave and was about to depart after placing his luggage in a vehicle, officials came running after him and said that they were under "tremendous pressure from above".
"Then they issued a challan of ₹50,000. The officials themselves admitted that they were under pressure, which proves that the entire episode was carried out under orders from above," he had alleged.