NEW DELHI: Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has alleged that he was kept waiting for around two hours at Delhi airport after returning from Paris, claiming that officials repeatedly cited luggage checks as the reason for the delay. Mann also alleged that the head of ustoms at the airport, identified as Manish, is the brother of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“They kept us seated there for two hours, repeatedly saying that they were checking our luggage. But they found nothing in our luggage. The head of customs at Delhi Airport, Manish, is the real brother of Gyanesh Kumar,” Mann said.The allegation comes after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) claimed that Mann was detained for three hours at the airport late on Monday and issued a challan of Rs 50,000 upon his return from a food trade fair in Paris.AAP state media in-charge Baltej Pannu alleged that the incident was part of a deliberate attempt by the BJP-led Centre to humiliate Mann and undermine Punjab’s dignity. He claimed that officials initially told the chief minister that his luggage was still arriving or being checked.
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According to Pannu, Mann was allowed to leave after several hours but was issued the challan when he was about to depart in his vehicle. Pannu alleged that officials told Mann they were under “tremendous pressure from above”. He did not specify the reason for the challan.Shiromani Akali Dal general secretary Bikram Singh Majithia also posted on X that Mann and his wife were questioned for hours over allegations that they were carrying more luggage or money than permitted. Majithia claimed that officials subsequently ordered checks of the bags belonging to the entire chief minister’s office staff.
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The controversy follows a dispute between the Punjab government and the Centre over Mann’s Paris visit. After the Centre denied him political clearance, the Punjab government approached the Punjab and Haryana high court, which set aside the decision, observing that the Centre “had not explained what that political angle/viewpoint is”.
