Chandigarh, June 16
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday strongly denied any connection to a controversial video at the centre of a growing dispute with Sikh religious authorities, a day after the Sri Akal Takht Sahib declared him a “Guru Dokhi” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” (opposed to the Khalsa Panth).
In his video address, the Chief Minister Mann said he was not the person shown in the footage and accused what he described as “politically appointed individuals” of attempting to defame him.
“I am not in this video. There is no resemblance between me and the person shown,” Mann said. “I completely deny any involvement. Efforts are being made to tarnish my image to please certain political leaders.”
The Chief Minister also alleged that the management of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) and the Akal Takht was uncomfortable with the Punjab government’s decision to introduce stricter anti-sacrilege legislation. He argued that individuals previously accused in sacrilege-related cases had received forgiveness, while his government had taken steps to strengthen legal protections for religious scriptures.
The controversy escalated on Monday when Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj announced that the Sikh clergy had declared Mann a “Guru Dokhi” and urged members of the Sikh community to sever ties with him.
The declaration followed a meeting of the five Sikh high priests in Amritsar. The clergy also summoned all Sikh members of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, irrespective of party affiliation, along with the Punjab cabinet, to appear before the Akal Takht on 29 June to discuss concerns surrounding the state’s recently enacted anti-sacrilege law.
The dispute centres on a video submitted to the Akal Takht as part of a complaint filed against Mr Mann earlier this year. The footage allegedly shows a person resembling the chief minister engaging in actions considered objectionable by Sikh religious authorities.
According to the Akal Takht, Mann appeared before its secretariat on 15 January and denied involvement, claiming the video had been generated using artificial intelligence. Giani Gargajj said the Akal Takht subsequently asked the Chief Minister to suggest two forensic laboratories to examine the footage, but received no response.
The clergy later sent the video to two government-recognised forensic laboratories, which concluded that the footage was authentic and had not been manipulated or created using AI.
“The office of chief minister is a respected position, but Bhagwant Mann misled the Akal Takht,” Giani Gargajj said while announcing the religious edict. He added that the clergy believed the matter had hurt Sikh sentiments.
The ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has challenged those conclusions. On Monday, senior AAP leader Baltej Singh Pannu questioned whether the forensic reports had actually established the identity of the individual shown in the video.
“The reports may state that the video was not AI-generated, but they do not identify who the person is,” Pannu said. He argued that important questions remained unanswered and maintained that the government would present what it described as the “complete truth” in the coming days.
Pannu also accused the Badal family and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) of politicising Sikh institutions in an attempt to regain public support. He said the Akal Takht belongs to the global Sikh community and should not be drawn into partisan political disputes.
The AAP leader further claimed that the Mann government had enacted some of Punjab’s strongest anti-sacrilege measures, while accusing previous SAD governments of failing to adequately address the 2015 sacrilege incidents in Faridkot.
