New Delhi, Jun 16 : The BJP on Tuesday said that the Akal Takht declaring Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann ‘anti-Guru’ and ‘anti-Khalsa Panth’ over an “objectionable” video will have far-reaching political and social consequences.
Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, on Monday declared Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’ (anti-Guru) and ‘Khalsa Panth Virodhi’ (anti-Khalsa Panth), and directed community members to “shun ties” with him after the chief minister was accused of lying about a purported objectionable video that hurt Sikh sentiments.
The Sikh clergy maintained that forensic reports commissioned by it concluded that the viral clip was authentic and not AI-generated, even as Mann said the person in the clip was not him.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla termed the development “shameful”, and said that reverence towards Sikh Gurus and Sikh “maryada” is non-negotiable.
In a post on X, Poonawalla claimed that Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj has said that the viral video purportedly showing Mann under the influence of alcohol and sprinkling droplets on photographs of Sikh Gurus was examined by two forensic laboratories, which concluded that the footage is neither fake nor AI-generated.
“The statements by the Akal Takht are therefore likely to have far-reaching political and social consequences,” Poonawalla said.
The Sikh clergy has also summoned all Sikh MLAs, regardless of their party affiliation, from Punjab before the Akal Takht on June 29 in connection with an anti-sacrilege law.
The matter stems from the summoning of Mann by the Akal Takht in January this year for allegedly making comments on ‘Guru ki Golak’ (a gurdwara donation box) and indulging in “objectionable activities” with pictures of “Sikh Gurus” and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in a video clip.
Mann appeared before the Takht on January 15 and submitted that the video was “fake or AI-generated”, and the Sikh clergy could get its forensic examination done at any lab in the country.
