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BJP leader Shehzad Poonawalla on Monday attacked Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the Akal Takht reportedly declared him "anti-Guru" ahead of the Punjab Assembly polls, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Mann had insulted Sikh sentiments.
Speaking to ANI, Poonawalla referred to a viral video of Bhagwant Mann and claimed that the Akal Takht had termed it authentic. "Look, the decision from Akal Takht has come. The way a video of Bhagwant Mann surfaced, in which the Gurus are being insulted. Bhagwant Mann, intoxicated with alcohol, is committing unacceptable acts. Akal Takht has clarified that the video is not AI-generated or fake; it's a real video. It's very shameful," Poonawalla said. He further alleged that the Akal Takht had termed Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party "anti-community, anti-Sikh and anti-Guru." "Now Akal Takht has decided that Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party are, in fact, anti-community, anti-Sikh and anti-Guru. I think any other person would have resigned on moral grounds. But Kejriwal ji is so anti-Sikh that he is letting a Chief Minister like Bhagwant Mann continue," he alleged. Poonawalla also accused the AAP government of failing to deliver on promises made in Punjab. "Those who said they would make Punjab drug-free are themselves intoxicated in the Assembly, on flights and even in temples. It's an insult. If the law and order and the economy of the state are in the hands of such a person, you can imagine how they are functioning," he said. Meanwhile, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) member Bhagwant Singh Sialka said the Akal Takht Sahib is the supreme institution for Sikhs and its decisions are respected by the community. "This Akal Takht Sahib is the supreme institution of Sikhs and anyone is forgiven when they come and bow down, when they come with humility. And when a person shows arrogance, then he is punished by the Takht Sahib," Sialka said. He added that Bhagwant Mann deserved "strict punishment" for his alleged conduct. "What this person has done deserves a very big punishment; he should be given a very severe punishment. Every Sikh respects the decision of the Akal Takht Sahib," he said. Sialka also criticised Mann, alleging that entrusting the state to a person "who does not know what he is doing" raises concerns about governance. "Bhagwant Singh Mann is a high-level alcoholic. Handing over the state's reins by making a person CM who doesn't even know what he is doing," he said. Earlier, on January 15 this year, Mann, after being summoned, had appeared before the Secretariat of Akal Takht Sahib in Amritsar. He was questioned by Sangh Sahib about the alleged viral video, but Mann maintained the video was fabricated. The Chief Minister had also proposed that the video be examined by a forensic laboratory. (ANI)
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