Bhagwant Mann Rejects Video, Contradicts Forensic Report; Blames Sukhbir Badal
Bhagwant Mann Rejects Video: CM Bhagwant Mann denies he is the person in the viral video declared authentic by two forensic labs, accuses Sukhbir Badal of orchestrating a conspiracy via the Akal Takht, and ties the row to his government’s anti-beadbi law.
North Desk Correspondent
CHANDIGARH, June 15
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Tuesday directly contradicted the findings of two forensic laboratories that the Akal Takht had relied upon to declare him “Guru Dokhi,” stating flatly: “I am not the person in the fake video.”
The denial puts Mann’s position on a direct collision course with the Akal Takht’s own account of the forensic process — under which the video was tested by two separate labs after Mann’s office failed to respond to a request for cooperation, and both labs certified the footage as authentic and not AI-generated.
Mann did not address that contradiction directly. Instead, he named a target: Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal. “The conspiracy against me has been orchestrated at the behest of Sukhbir Badal, and these directives have been issued accordingly,” Mann said, asserting that political appointees within Sikh religious bodies were acting under outside influence rather than independent judgement.
Deference to the institution, attack on its occupants
Bhagwant Mann Rejects Video: Even as he rejected the video and the process behind it, Mann was careful to separate the Akal Takht as an institution from the individuals currently occupying its offices. “Sri Akal Takht Sahib is the supreme temporal authority for me, and I bow before it with utmost reverence. I cannot even imagine challenging its authority,” he said, adding that neither he nor his family could ever conceive of doing so.
The distinction is a familiar one in Punjab’s religious-political disputes — affirming the seat while contesting the people who currently hold it — and allows Mann to avoid being cast as anti-Panthic while still resisting the verdict against him.
READ: Bhagwant Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’, Declares Akal Takht: How CM’s Own Dare Led to Historic Censure
The beadbi law as shield
Bhagwant Mann rejects video: Mann’s central political defence was to tie the entire controversy to his government’s anti-sacrilege legislation. “The propaganda campaign against me began after our government enacted a stringent law against beadbi,” he said, framing the timing as evidence of motive.
He pointed to what he called a contradiction among his critics: “Earlier they demanded a strict law against beadbi; now that the law has been enacted, they are questioning why it was brought in.” The line is intended to position Mann as a Sikh-interest legislator being punished for delivering exactly what was demanded of him — though it does not engage with the specific objections religious bodies have raised about the law’s provisions on state authority over religious matters.
An unaddressed charge: retractions before the Takht
Bhagwant Mann rejects video: Mann also revived an allegation he has made before, that individuals who admitted before the Akal Takht to roles in past beadbi-related matters — including police firing incidents — later retracted those statements, with no consequences. “No directive was issued against those who admitted before Sri Akal Takht Sahib their role in beadbi-related matters and later retracted their statements,” he said.
He did not name individuals.
The populist close
Mann closed by invoking Punjab’s “Paani, Jawani, Kisani and Bani” — water, youth, farmers, and Sikh scripture/heritage — as the basis of his governance, suggesting his decisions on these fronts, not any personal wrongdoing, are what has provoked his opponents. “I’m taking decisions in the interest of Punjab’s Paani, Jawani, Kisani and Bani, and some people are unable to digest these pro-Punjab decisions,” he said. He added that the final judgement would rest with “the Sangat and the people,” not with any institutional verdict.
As of Tuesday evening, Mann’s statement stands as a direct denial set against a forensic record the Akal Takht has said it is prepared to defend in court. Neither side has presented additional evidence since.
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