The Akal Takht on Saturday released a video of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s appearance before the supreme temporal seat of Sikhs in January this year regarding an alleged objectionable video.
This came amid an ongoing row over the alleged video on which the Akal Takht issued an edict against Mann on June 15 in Amritsar.
The matter stems from the summoning of Mann by the Akal Takht in January this year for allegedly making comments on ‘Guru ki Golak’ (gurdwara donation box) and indulging in “objectionable activities" with the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in a purported video clip.
In a statement issued here, the Akal Takht said that when the chief minister appeared at Akal Takht Sahib on January 15 in connection with various issues being heard against him.
He addressed the matter regarding an objectionable video and had said, “This is completely fake."
According to the statement, Mann had said he himself wanted the video to be investigated, and that he could provide the addresses of forensic laboratories.
He said this was the era of AI (Artificial Intelligence); AI-generated videos had been made not only of him but of others too.
Rejecting the video, Mann said it was “false propaganda" aimed at defaming him, while opposition parties have been pressing for his resignation after the issuance of the edict against him.
Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldip Singh Gargajj had asked Mann to provide names of two government forensic laboratories where the video could be examined and the chief minister had agreed to have the investigation conducted, it said.
Gargajj had said that the matter was connected to the Gurus and that even if the video turned out to be false, no one’s character should be assassinated.
The jathedar had said that whether the video was genuine or fake could only be determined through forensic examination.
According to the statement, Mann had told the jathedar that the investigation could be carried out under his supervision by any forensic laboratory of his choice, and they would arrange it.
The jathedar had then asked whether Mann had already had the video examined, to which he replied that they had a court order stating that the video itself was false. Gargajj had replied that he had read the court order and that the court had not ordered any investigation into the video.
Mann had then said if jathedar wished, he was prepared to have a forensic examination conducted, the statement read.
Following this, the jathedar had said that if the video turned out to be genuine, the next decision would be made by the Khalsa Panth.
Even then, Mann was asked to provide the names of two laboratories from his side, which, according to the statement, he has not done to this day.
The Akal Takht on Monday declared Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’ (anti-Guru) and ‘Khalsa Panth virodhi’ (anti-Khalsa Panth) over the video.
