AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH: Five senior Sikh clerics have ordered all Sikh MLAs and members of the Punjab cabinet who signed the Jagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, except Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, to appear before the Akal Takht on June 29. They also sought a written explanation from non-Sikh ministers in the Punjab government.Akal Takht’s presiding jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargazi on Monday, after a meeting of senior Sikh clerics at Akal Takht, declared Mann as “Guru Doki” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa Pant Virodi” (anti-Khalsa Pant) and directed Sikh Pants to “have no association with Mann”.Gianni Gargazi said the decision was made after Akal Takht received “forensic reports” from two laboratories stating that the alleged blasphemy video of Mann was not manipulated or generated using artificial intelligence.AAP Punjab media in-charge Bhartej Panu held a press conference on Monday to refute this.“The so-called forensic report used to target CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has not even identified the person seen in the video,” he said, adding, “After losing people’s trust and facing repeated electoral defeats, the Badal family and the Shiromani Akali Dal have dragged the respected Sikh organization into the political fray in a desperate bid to regain relevance.”Earlier in the day, Gianni Gargazi said Akal Takht had summoned Mann after receiving a video of a person allegedly resembling the CM indulging in “obnoxious acts”.Mann appeared before Akal Takht on January 15, claiming that the video was fake, and asked Akal Takht to introduce two forensic laboratories that could verify the authenticity of the video.On January 27, the Akal Takht secretariat sent letters to Man City and the Punjab government seeking answers, but so far no response has been received, he said.Chief Justice Jathedar said that as there was no response, the Akal Takht office had identified two government-approved forensic laboratories to examine the video.The video was found to be original and showed no signs of tampering or AI-generated content, the report said. Following the findings, the issue was discussed at a Panthic meeting and then by five senior Sikh clerics, who decided to take action, Gianni Gargazi said.“Therefore, on June 15, the Sikh clerics declared him ‘Guru Doki’ and ‘Khalsa Panth Virodhi’,” he said.AAP questioned the forensic report and Panunu said, “Nowhere in the report does it say who the people in the video are. Even if we accept the claim that the video was not generated by AI, the jathedar is the person seen in the video.” “I have to explain how tall the object is. Does CM Bhagwant Singh Man’s height match the height of the person in the video? Which hotel room is the one in which Guru Sahib’s photograph is displayed?”“AAP will bring the complete truth before the nation and expose all sides of this controversy,” he added.“The same Badals, whose rule witnessed the Beasvi (blasphemy) incident in Punjab and the Kotkapura and Behabbar Kalan tragedies, are now trying to claim moral authority, but they remain unable to digest the fact that the Bhagwant Mann government enacted the strictest Beasvi laws in Punjab and achieved transformative governance,” Panu claimed.Panu said, “The Jathedar Sahib was appointed on the orders of Sukhbir Badal, without consulting any Sikh sect or organization, in the middle of the night, in a place where even the Parkash of Shri Guru Granth Sahib was not present.” Under these circumstances, his loyalty to the Badal family and statements of SGPC Chairman Harjinder Singh Dhami, who described himself as a soldier of Sukhbir Badal, are proof of the politicization of these respected Sikh organizations.”The BJP and Congress have demanded Mann’s resignation. Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon said, “When a person is declared by Shri Akal Takht Sahib to be Guru Doki and anti-Khalsa Panth, it has serious social and moral repercussions.”Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said Mann should respect the supremacy of the Akal Takht and resign on moral grounds after apologizing to the Sikh community.
