Fake Video Says Mann Rejects Akal Takht Decree

A day after the Akal Takht directed the Sikh community to ostracise him, Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday rejected the video that formed the basis of the decree, calling it “false and misleading propaganda”.

In a video statement posted on X, Mann asserted that the man seen in the controversial footage was not him. “I had already clarified this before the jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. Neither the physical build nor the appearance of the person shown in the video matches me, yet false and misleading propaganda is being spread to damage my reputation,” Mann said, adding that he rejects the video clip “completely”.

The Sikh clergy on Monday declared Mann “Guru-Dokhi” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa Panth virodhi” (anti-Khalsa Panth) and summoned all Sikh legislators across the political parties and cabinet ministers before the Akal Takht — the highest temporal seat of Sikhs — on June 29 in connection with an anti-sacrilege law recently passed by the state legislature.

Mann had been summoned before the Akal Takht after a complaint was filed on January 4 alleging the video purportedly showed him making comments on the ‘Guru ki Golak’ (a gurdwara donation box) and disrespecting the pictures of the “Sikh Gurus” and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, who pronounced Monday’s edict, contended the CM told the Akal Takht on January 15 that the video was fake and had been generated using artificial intelligence (AI). Forensic examinations by two government-recognised labs found no evidence of tampering, the jathedar claimed.

In his response on Tuesday, Mann questioned the religious body’s leadership. “I am surprised at how the people sitting at the highest position of religious bodies are indulging in such false propaganda at the behest of their political bosses. A deliberate campaign is being carried out to malign my image because some people cannot tolerate the decisions being taken by my government for safeguarding Punjab’s paani, jawani, kisani and bani (water, youth, agriculture and language),” he said.

He added that religion was being misused to target him politically and such attempts were completely “unfortunate and unacceptable”. “Everyone knows how political appointments and decisions are made in these bodies,” the CM added.

Mann said he considers the Akal Takht the supreme body of the Sikhs and remains committed to it. “The very thought of challenging its authority is beyond imagination and I have never deviated from this belief,” he said.

He later accused the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Badal family of using religious institutions to regain lost political relevance, Mann said the final decision rests with the public. “The sangat (community) will give its verdict. People know who stands with them,” he said

A senior assistant editor, Navneet Sharma leads the Punjab bureau for Hindustan Times. He writes on politics, public affairs, civil services and the energy sector.