Bhagwant Mann video row: Amid calls for CM's resignation, Akali Dal seeks lie detector test after AAP rejects 'anti-Khalsa Panth' label
The Akali Dal has urged CM Bhagwant Mann to resign before the beginning of the 'Dharam Yudh Morcha' from the Akal Takht, from July 19 onwards
The Akali Dal has urged CM Bhagwant Mann to resign before the beginning of the 'Dharam Yudh Morcha' from the Akal Takht, from July 19 onwards.
The Akali Dal has urged CM Bhagwant Mann to resign before the beginning of the 'Dharam Yudh Morcha' from the Akal Takht, from July 19 onwards.
The Akali Dal has urged CM Bhagwant Mann to resign before the beginning of the 'Dharam Yudh Morcha' from the Akal Takht, from July 19 onwards.
Amid the political row over Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann being labelled "anti-Khalsa Panth" and "Guru betrayer" by the Akal Takht Sahib, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has challenged the CM to undergo a lie detector test.
Apart from the challenge to Mann to prove that he was not "guilty" of appearing in a viral video deemed "sacrilegious" by the group of Sikh high priests, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal also intensified calls for Mann's resignation over the issue.
In that regard, the SAD urged the CM to resign before the beginning of the 'Dharam Yudh Morcha' from the Akal Takht, from July 19 onwards, over "the most unforgivable outrage" against the religious body.
"He has tested the patience of devout Sikh community for far too long. This now is the limit," he added.
Badal also declared that SAD lawmakers would not attend the Vidhan Sabha for as long as Mann remained the CM.
This comes after the Akal Takht's Jathedar (leader), Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, revealed at a June 15 meeting that reports from two forensic labs had confirmed the viral video as "authentic", as per an Indian Express report.
Pointing out that the footage had “not been tampered with” and that it was "not AI”, the Jathedar said that the video appeared “entirely natural, just like sitting in a natural environment where shadows fall".
However, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has claimed that two independent, government-recognised laboratories had found the video circulated by the SAD to be "fake".
"Every aspect, including facial features, height, body structure, posture, movement patterns, side profile and back profile, was thoroughly analysed. The reports clearly conclude that the person shown in the video does not match CM Mann," Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said, as per the report.
A delegation from the party has also met the Punjab DGP, seeking a detailed probe into the alleged conspiracy to unseat the CM ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections in the state.