AAP under fire over CM’s video lines of sacrilege

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann speaks during the ‘Sarpanch Milni’ program in Bathinda on June 24, 2026. | Photo Credit: X/@BhagwantMann via ANI

Amid the ongoing controversy surrounding a video allegedly linked to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s actions that amounted to sacrilege under the new law, and the dispute between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Akal Takht, the supreme Sikh interim seat, the ruling party appears to be navigating uncomfortable terrain, with pressure on the opposition in the next 2027 elections in early elections it gets stronger.

On Wednesday (June 24, 2026), a day after the Haryana Police arrested two men for allegedly conspiring to prepare fake forensic and cyber analysis reports in connection with Mr Mann’s alleged video, opposition parties including the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an attack on the AAP-out.

The SAD leaders demanded that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation. “Only a CBI investigator can get to the bottom of this issue as it has become an inter-state case and there is a money trail to be investigated,” said senior SAD official Maheshinder Singh Grewal.

Punjab Congress leaders have demanded the immediate resignation of Mr. Mann and the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against him under the new sacrilege law. All doubts that the AAP government was trying to cover up its lies would have been removed if an FIR had been registered in Gurugram, Punjab leaders said at a press conference here. “Mr. Mann must appear before the Akal Takht and seek forgiveness,” State Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.

Senior BJP leader and former Punjab President Sunil Jakhar said Mr. Mann’s video was not a political issue but related to religious sentiments. “This is the problem of how an arrogant person is attacking the supreme Sri Akal Takht Sahib,” said Mr. Jakhar.

The Akal Takht asked the Haryana Police to “investigate the matter with utmost seriousness and expose every individual involved in this conspiracy and ensure strict punishment.”

Fake Video: Mann

The fake video was deliberately created and circulated to defame him after his political opponents failed to challenge the work his government had done for the people of Punjab, Mr Mann said in response to the controversy. The opposition misled people in the name of religion and resorted to petty politics, he said, adding, “Those who have no problem against my government are now trying to tarnish my image with fabricated propaganda.

The Punjab government had the video examined by forensic labs, however, he said: “Those who own and run this lab are being targeted because the BJP, Akali Dal and Congress have come together against me,” Mr Mann claimed.

He also questioned the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), a religious body overseeing the management of historic gurdwaras. “Politics has sunk to a very low level as they have no other way to confront me. They are constantly trying to defame me through one accusation or the other. SGPC has now ordered posters to be put up outside Gurdwara Sahibs calling for my boycott. Why were similar posters not put up against Akali Dal (SAD) or Sukhbir Singh Badal, who were responsible for the sacrilege incident of Badal (SAD president)?” he said.

Controversial video

In October 2025, a video of a person resembling Mr. Mann was posted on social media platforms, allegedly showing him spraying pictures of Sikh gurus with alcohol. After this, the Punjab Police registered an FIR. In January 2026, the Akal Takht summoned Mr. Mann over the allegations. Mr Mann said the person in the video was not him.

On 15 June 2026, the Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht declared Mr. Mann a “Guru Dokhi” (traitor to the Guru) and a “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” (opponent of the Sikh Khalsa Panth), alleging that he had made false statements in connection with the objectionable video. Proclaiming the edict, Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj said the video has been confirmed as authentic by two forensic laboratories.

On June 18, the AAP said forensic tests by two independent laboratories found no match between the person in the video and Mr. Mann.

Published – 24 Jun 2026 23:32 IST