Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann denied on June 16, 2026 that he is the person shown in a controversial video, calling it fake
after the clip angered Sikh sentiments. He made the remarks at a press conference in Chandigarh a day after the Akal Takht declared him Guru dokhi
and Khalsa Panth virodhi
.
Mann said the episode was a malicious and politically motivated conspiracy
carried out at the behest of Shiromani Akali Dal leader Sukhbir Singh Badal. He said the aim was to defame him and derail his Aam Aadmi Party-led government's pro-people decisions.
Chandigarh press conference
At the Chandigarh event, Mann said certain politically influenced functionaries were being used to spread false propaganda against him. He also said, I hold Akal Takht Sahib in the highest esteem and bows before its authority with utmost reverence
.
The Akal Takht, the highest seat of temporal authority for the Sikh community, had made its declaration on June 15, 2026. That step put the dispute on a formal religious track before Mann responded publicly the next day.
Akal Takht declaration
The Sikh clergy at the Akal Takht used the labels Guru dokhi
and Khalsa Panth virodhi
against Mann after the video drew objections over Sikh sentiments. Mann’s response was a direct rejection of the identification, not a retreat from his position.
He said he would continue to take bold decisions in the interest of Punjab regardless of the smear campaigns against him. The clash now sits between a chief minister’s denial and a religious order’s public censure, with Mann tying the dispute to both the video and the politics around it.
Badal and Punjab
Mann singled out Sukhbir Singh Badal in his account of the episode, saying the conspiracy was intended to defame him and disrupt decisions from his government. By doing so, he moved the dispute beyond the video itself and into a broader charge of deliberate political attack.
For Mann, the immediate issue is his own denial and the Akal Takht’s verdict. His public answer was to reject the video, reject the allegation behind it, and keep the focus on his claim that the material was used to target him politically.
