Chandigarh: The opposition has questioned the authenticity of the forensic reports cited by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to declare that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was not seen in the alleged sacrilege video. Accusing CM Mann of committing the "biggest ever sacrilege," Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Thursday announced the formation of a five-member committee to mobilise support from Sant Samaj as well as political, religious, and social organisations ahead of launching a ‘Dharam Yudh Morcha' from July 19 if Mann does not resign within a month.
Committee Formation and Assembly Boycott
The committee is led by veteran leader Balwinder Singh Bhunder and comprises senior party functionaries Maheshinder Singh Grewal, Gulzar Singh Ranike, Daljit Singh Cheema, and Amarjit Singh Chawla. Badal also declared that Akali legislators would boycott the state assembly as long as Mann remains the CM.
Badal's Questions on Video Timeline
Pointing out that the video has been online for a long time, Badal said, "Last year, it was shared publicly by Jagman Samra from Canada, who was once close to Mann. The video spread across Punjab like wildfire, making the Punjab govt nervous. On Oct 21, 2025, an FIR was registered claiming that an AI-generated video of Mann was being circulated. The next day, the govt approached a local court seeking restrictions on its circulation, reiterating it was AI-generated. If they now claim the person in the video is not Mann at all, why did they file an FIR and approach the court? Why was there such panic?"
He added, "They are now talking about two laboratory reports and claiming that 1,191 parameters were analysed. What laboratory can complete such an analysis in just two days? This appears to be a desperate attempt to create a counter-narrative."
Demand for CBI Probe and Lie-Detector Test
The SAD chief questioned why the video was not sent to the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) if the govt was confident in its stance. He argued that if the administration were serious about uncovering the truth, it would seek a CBI probe instead of relying on the Punjab DGP. Badal also dared Mann to undergo a lie-detector test.
Congress Echoes Doubts
Echoing these doubts, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring called the documents cited by AAP "vague reports from anonymous laboratories," adding, "AAP is trying to defend the indefensible and telling one lie after the other." In a written statement, Warring said, "I wonder how the AAP managed to procure a report from two different laboratories within 24 hours to give a clean chit to the CM. Even when you knew you were going to lie, you should have lied properly and waited for some time."
Congress MP from Gurdaspur Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa too called for the video to be examined by a Central Forensic Laboratory. "The Aam Aadmi Party had initially described the video as fake and artificially generated, but when that argument failed to hold ground, new explanations began to emerge," Randhawa said.
