Chandigarh, June 24 (IANS) Setting aside allegations of “sacrilegious conduct” levelled against him by political opponents, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Wednesday said accusations were part of a “dirty politics” campaign aimed at tarnishing his image.

In a video message posted on X, he said the controversy was being used as a political tool to target him.

“When they have nothing else to control, they use religion to defame me,” he said, adding that the purported video allegedly showing the desecration of Sikh gurus’ photos was fake and accused the Opposition of trying to defame him.

He alleged a nexus among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiromani Akali Dal and the Congress, saying they were using religion as a political weapon against him.

“For the past few days, my fake videos have been released amid dirty politics. When they don’t find another way, they try to defame me using religion. Neither my shape nor my size matches the person in the video, nor my way of standing. They are calling me guilty for making the video viral. However, the people saw the video and received several calls claiming it was false. We also got it tested in the forensic labs,” Mann clarified.

Saying the public will decide whose version is credible, the Chief Minister said the BJP had attacked owners of forensic labs. He alleged that the BJP, the Congress and the Akali Dal had formed a collusion in Punjab, thinking that the video issue was going against them after they issued a fake video, and people were commenting that it was “dirty politics.”

“By the fear of an FIR and torture, they are making the lab owners say that ‘we took the money for a fake report’. The lab we got it tested was fake, and the lab they got it examined is real? People know who is fake and who is real. I leave this decision to the people… I will keep working this way. I will keep my pace for electricity, houses, hospitals and jobs the same,” Mann said.

His clarification comes after Haryana Police registered an FIR in the case in Gurugram. The police are investigating an alleged Rs 10 lakh-for-report deal linked to the Chief Minister’s viral video controversy.

The police have arrested two people on charges of forcing a “tailored” forensic report linked to the viral video. The case came to light after Jaspreet Singh, who was allegedly approached to prepare a forensic analysis of the video, filed a complaint with the police.

Jaspreet alleged that two senior Punjab Police officers offered him Rs 10 lakh to prepare a report declaring the video fake and AI-generated.

The Sikh clergy declared CM Mann “Guru Dokhi” (anti-Guru) and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” (anti-community) on June 15. They also summoned all Sikh legislators across the political parties and cabinet ministers before the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, on June 29 in connection with an anti-sacrilege law recently passed by the legislature.

Akal Takht jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj had pronounced the edict from the ‘faseel’ (Akal Takht podium) after the Sikh clergy held a meeting in Amritsar.

–IANS

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