Chandigarh (Punjab) [India], June 17 (ANI): BJP national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Chugh on Wednesday said that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has forfeited every shred of moral authority to remain in office after the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs delivered its pronouncement on a controversial video, which allegedly shows disrespect towards the revered figures and sentiments of the Sikh faith.
According to a release, Chugh recalled that when the video surfaced several months ago, Bhagwant Mann had dismissed it as fabricated, claiming it had been generated using Artificial Intelligence.
Appearing before the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, Mann had even challenged that the video be examined by any competent agency, insisting all the while that it was fake. Chugh said the Chief Minister had thus staked his own credibility on the outcome of that very examination.
The release noted that Chugh said that during the deliberations held on June 15 with Panthic personalities, institutions and Sikh organizations, the truth stood fully exposed.
"The video had been sent for forensic examination to two accredited laboratories in the country, and both concluded, without ambiguity, that the video was authentic, had not been manipulated in any manner and was not AI-generated. The very test Bhagwant Mann himself had invited has today turned into an indictment of his own conduct," he said.
Chugh said that on the basis of these findings, the highest temporal seat of the Sikhs declared Bhagwant Mann a "Guru Drohi" and an "anti-Panthic" figure and advised the Sikh Sangat to socially boycott him, an unprecedented censure that has shaken the conscience of the Nanak Naam Leva Sangat across the world and created a moral and political situation no Chief Minister has ever faced.
"The office of Chief Minister demands integrity, humility and reverence for the faith and sentiments of the people. Once the highest religious authority of the Sikh Panth itself has pronounced such a grave indictment, Bhagwant Mann no longer possesses even an iota of moral legitimacy to continue in office," Chugh said.
He demanded Mann's immediate resignation and asserted that the indictment does not end with the Chief Minister alone. Chugh called upon every minister, MLA and office-bearer of the ruling dispensation to honour the directions issued from Sri Akal Takht Sahib and to reconsider their continuation in government. A cabinet that continues to function under the leadership of a Chief Minister declared "Guru Drohi" by the supreme institution of the Panth, he said, has no right to remain in power for even a single moment, and the entire cabinet must step down.
Chugh said that no political office can ever stand above faith, accountability and public morality. He added that Punjab deserves leadership that respects the spiritual heritage, the sacrifices and the traditions that form the very foundation of the state's identity, and not a dispensation that mocks them, the release said.
"The people of Punjab will never accept arrogance, deception or disrespect towards their revered religious institutions. Bhagwant Mann must step down without delay, his entire cabinet must vacate office, and they must seek forgiveness from the Sikh community," Chugh said.
The remarks came a day after the Akal Takht, led by acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, directed the Sikh community to shun ties with the Punjab Chief Minister over the controversy surrounding the video. Mann, however, has rejected the authenticity of the video, describing it as "false propaganda."
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann "categorically and completely" rejected the authenticity of the viral video and alleged that it was part of an orchestrated attempt to malign his image.
"I categorically and completely reject the authenticity of that video. The person in the video is not me. The person in the video neither matches my height nor build," Mann said in a video message shared on X.
The Punjab CM also expressed concern over a recent decree issued by the Akal Takht regarding the video and alleged that individuals occupying "high religious positions" were spreading misinformation at the behest of political interests. (ANI)
