The Delhi Airport authorities fined Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Rs 50,000 over alleged undeclared goods as he returned from France on Tuesday night, sources have told NDTV.
The Chief Minister, accompanied by his staff, was exiting through the Green Channel when he was stopped, and the officials went through his luggage.
The fine was levied by the Customs Duty Department over, what they call, undeclared luxury goods, sources said. Sources said some luxury items had not been declared and a custom duty was levied on them.
The officials themselves admitted that they were under pressure, which proves that the entire episode was carried out under orders from above,” Pannu claimed. The visit was aimed at promoting Punjab’s agricultural and food-processing products in international markets and exploring trade opportunities. “Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann went to Paris to launch Punjab’s products at Paris. This was after he challenged Centre’s not granting him the NOC. This arrogance of Centre must end. Even Ravan’s arrogance ended on Dussehra,” he wrote in a post on X. Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) General Secretary Bikram Singh Majithia claimed that Mann and his wife Gurpreet Kaur were held for violating the laws.
“Then they issued a challan of Rs 50,000.
His party, the AAP, has termed the incident an “insult to Punjabis”. AAP Punjab media in-charge Baltej Pannu alleged that the Chief Minister was deliberately humiliated and “detained for three hours” at the Delhi Airport at night. He said Mann travelled to Paris following a Punjab and Haryana High Court order and the central government once again demonstrated its “narrow-mindedness”. The incident has also triggered a bitter political exchange, with AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj terming it Centre’s “arrogance”.
