Chandigarh: A day after the Sikh clergy declared him ‘Guru Dokhi’ (anti-Guru) and ‘Khalsa Panth virodhi’ (anti-Khalsa Panth) over an objectionable video, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann Tuesday rejected it, saying the person in the video was not him.
In a video message, the chief minister expressed surprise over the people occupying the highest positions of religious bodies indulging in false propaganda at the behest of their political bosses to defame him.
In a post on X, Mann said, The president of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee has openly become a propagandist for the Akali Dal.
The only thing left now is to get a directive issued through the Jathedar Sahib saying, ‘Vote for Sukhbir Badal, otherwise the ‘Panth’ is in danger.’ Such a decision could be taken at any time, he said.
The matter stems from the summoning of Mann by the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, in January this year for allegedly making comments on ‘Guru ki Golak’ (gurdwara donation box) and indulging in objectionable activities with the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in a purported video clip.
In his video message Tuesday, Mann said a ‘hukamnama’ (edict) had been issued against him over the video, claiming that it featured him and that it was not AI-generated.
I completely reject this video, he said.
Mann said when he was summoned to the Akal Takht earlier, he had said that it was not him in the purported video.
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The person seen in the video does not match my height and physique, he said.
But I am surprised at how the people sitting at the highest positions of religious bodies are indulging in such false propaganda at the behest of their political bosses, Mann said, alluding to Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, who pronounced the edict against the CM Monday.
They are indulging in mudslinging to defame me. Because I am taking decisions for safeguarding Punjab’s waters, youths, farmers and teachings of the Guru Sahiban, he said.
He said religion was being used to defame him.
I have always considered Sri Akal Takht Sahib as the supreme temporal authority and bow before it with utmost humility and devotion. The very thought of challenging its authority is beyond imagination and I have never deviated from this belief. Neither I nor generations of my family can ever imagine challenging Sri Akal Takht Sahib, he added.
Questioning the appointment of the Akal Takht Jathedar, Mann said, The political appointments that have taken place there, the Sikh Sangat knows very well about the kind of decisions being taken there.
He said it was completely wrong that attempts were being made to defame him.
Punjab resides in every fibre of my being, Punjab lives in my heartbeat and I am working day and night for Punjab, he said.
Now that the people have welcomed the anti-sacrilege law brought by the government, some vested interests have become uncomfortable, the chief minister said.
Mann said the ‘parbandhaks’ at the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee were earlier asking why an anti-sacrilege law had not been framed.
When the law was enacted, they said why it was enacted without consulting them and refused to accept it. It proves that they change decisions every day, he said, referring to the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026.
The Act proposes stricter punishment, including life imprisonment for any act of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.
People are fully aware of how decisions have been taken in the past. They have seen how some individuals have been forgiven without even seeking pardon and how, in other cases, forgiveness has later been withdrawn, Mann said.
Alluding to the Akal Takht, Mann claimed that there was no intention of taking action against those who admitted to sacrilege and firing incidents before it December 2, 2024, and was only doing propaganda against him.
People have also witnessed how certain individuals admitted before the Akal Takht Sahib that ‘beadbi’ (sacrilege) incidents had taken place, that police firing occurred and that officials facing allegations had been given appointments and political patronage, only to retract those statements a few days later. Yet there appears to be no intent to take decisive action against them, he said.
December 2, 2024, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal had appeared before the Akal Takht when the Sikh clergy pronounced ‘tankhah’ (religious punishment) for him and other leaders for the mistakes committed by the party and its government in Punjab from 2007 to 2017.
I urge the Nanak Naam Leva Sangat not to fall prey to such misleading and malicious propaganda. The final verdict will always rest with the Sangat and the people, Mann said.
As long as I am entrusted with the responsibility of serving Punjab, I will continue taking decisions in favour of Punjab, its rights and its people, he said.
Later, at an event in Mohali, Mann said he had been the target of his political rivals.
They say how to defeat Bhagwant Mann. Opposition parties have three to four ways. First, they targeted me personally, but people did not accept it. Then they targeted my family, but people did not accept that as well.
Third, they targeted me politically. Whenever elections take place, Bhagwant Mann’s party wins. Then they target me religiously. Now they are targeting me on the religious front, but people will not accept this also, he said.
Akal Takht Jathedar Gargajj pronounced the edict against Mann from the ‘faseel’ (podium of the Akal Takht) Monday in Amritsar, accusing the CM of lying about the purported objectionable video that hurt Sikh sentiments.
The edict came after Gargajj claimed that the video circulating on social media, purportedly showing a man resembling Mann, was found to be authentic by two forensic laboratories. The video was neither tinkered with nor AI-generated, Gargajj said.
The Sikh clergy also summoned all Sikh MLAs, regardless of party affiliation, from the state and the Punjab Cabinet before the Akal Takht June 29 in connection with the anti-sacrilege law.
