Bhagwant Mann, the AAP‑led Punjab chief minister, was stopped at Delhi airport on Friday after returning from Paris, where customs officials held him for two hours and levied a ₹50,000 fine. The customs head, Manish, brother of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, was cited in Mann’s remarks as the person responsible for the action.
Mann told the Punjab Vidhan Sabha that the officials claimed "pressure from above" before demanding the fine, and he accused the centre of revenge, citing the customs head’s familial link to the CEC. He insisted that chief ministers receive protocol‑level treatment at the airport and that his luggage should have been exempt from routine checks.
Punjab BJP state general secretary Anil Sarin countered that the fine was justified, asked Mann to publish the receipt, and challenged him to explain what the chief minister had brought from abroad. Sarin also warned that Mann should not politicise the customs action without a clear factual basis.
The state assembly voted to seek an independent inquiry into alleged irregularities in the customs process and the Election Commission under CEC Kumar, and will report its findings next month, according to the resolution passed on Friday.