Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday denied being the individual featured in an objectionable viral video that has drawn a religious edict against him, claiming the footage was shot in a hotel room in Abbotsford, Canada, using a sophisticated face mask designed to resemble his features.
Addressing a press conference in Mohali, Mann identified a Canada-based man named Jagman Samra as the main blackmailer behind the plot and presented video clips of him holding the physical mask while sitting in a car. Mann said that the individual in the controversial clip is roughly two inches taller than him, possesses a completely different gait and body language, and lacks a distinct mark present on his own neck.
He alleged that Samra had also made a similar mask resembling Aam Aadmi Party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, and promised to expose the political financiers behind the operation in the coming days, noting that he himself has not visited Canada since November 2016.
“Certain politically motivated individuals occupying religious positions are making announcements according to their own agenda. There is an attempt to defame me on religious grounds because they are unable to compete with me politically. Politically, they (the opposition Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, and BJP) have been reduced to zero on the ground. Now they have stooped to a level where, almost every day, some order or directive is issued with the intention of tarnishing my religious image,” Mann said.
“In reality, the work that the AAP government has done for the people of Punjab, socially, economically, and even in religious matters, has never been done before. Whether it is the anti-sacrilege law, which provides for stringent punishments, or other initiatives taken by this government, no previous government has done as much,” the chief minister said.
While reiterating that he would never challenge the supreme authority of Akal Takht and remains willing to appear before it, Mann hit out at the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee for putting up billboards calling for his boycott while ignoring opposition leaders.
The political storm intensified following the arrest of two men by the Haryana Police in Gurugram on Tuesday for allegedly procuring a fabricated forensic report intended to clear the chief minister’s name.
The controversy stems from an edict issued on June 15 by Akal Takht acting jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, who declared Mann “Guru dokhi and Khalsa panth virodhi” after two forensic laboratories reportedly found the video authentic. The clip allegedly shows a man resembling Mann engaging in objectionable activities with pictures of Sikh Gurus and slain militant preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, following a January summons over comments Mann made regarding gurdwara donation boxes.
The Congress, SAD, and BJP have stepped up their attack, demanding Mann’s resignation and calling for his social boycott. SGPC member and advocate Bhagwant Singh Sialka also sought an FIR, warning that the alleged act could trigger unrest in the state and suggested the governor intervene to address the situation.
