On Tuesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) entered the office of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's Officer‑on‑Special‑Duty, Rajbir Singh Ghumman, and five other aides in Pune and Chandigarh, following a Punjab and Haryana High Court directive. Mann, who met reporters after launching the Hunar Punjab portal, slammed the raids as an attempt by the BJP‑led central government to intimidate Punjab's elected administration. The High Court had earlier noted that material filed by the Enforcement Directorate suggested the officers' involvement in corruption, prompting the CBI probe. Mann warned that such pre‑election investigations are a pattern, citing similar raids in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Delhi, Karnataka and Haryana months before their polls. He said the state would cooperate with the investigation and that no evidence of corruption had yet emerged, insisting that "the people of Punjab will not be silenced by fear tactics." The CBI will now conduct its inquiry, while the Punjab Assembly elections are still scheduled for March 2026, leaving the political future of the state in flux.