New Delhi:
BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha demanded Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s resignation on Thursday over a controversy surrounding an “objectionable” video, claiming that a probe conducted by the Gurugram Police has removed all doubts about the authenticity of the said video.
The remarks came two days after the Gurugram Police arrested two men on a complaint regarding the alleged procurement of a fabricated forensic report related to the viral video linked to the controversy involving Mann.
The Haryana Police registered a case on Tuesday on a complaint from a man who alleged that he was approached to procure the fabricated forensic report of the video.
Earlier this month, the Akal Takht, the supreme temporal body of Sikhs, declared Mann “guru dokhi” (anti-guru) and “Khalsa panth virodhi” (anti-Khalsa panth) over the video purportedly showing a man resembling him indulging in objectionable activities with pictures of Sikh gurus and Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.
Addressing reporters here, Chadha, who recently joined the BJP after quitting the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), also sought a probe into the alleged fabrication of the forensic report and demanded that the first FIR under Punjab’s new sacrilege law be registered against Mann.
“The truth behind the real sacrilege video involving Bhagwant Mann has now come out. The sin committed by Bhagwant Mann and the Punjab government in preparing a fake and fabricated forensic report to hide the truth about that video has been exposed,” he claimed.
“Those who had even the slightest doubt about whether the sacrilege video was genuine or AI-generated or fake have now had all their doubts removed,” he added.
Claiming that Sikhs are hurt by the controversy, he said Mann is no longer fit to continue as the Punjab chief minister and demanded legal action against him.
“The entire Sikh community is demanding two things. First, Bhagwant Mann, who has been declared anti-Panth and a betrayer of the Guru, should immediately resign as the chief minister of Punjab. He is no longer fit to remain the chief minister even for a minute,” Chadha told reporters here.
“Second, under the new sacrilege law, the very first FIR and the very first prosecution should be initiated against Bhagwant Mann himself,” he said.
Seeking a wider investigation, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP claimed that the alleged fabrication of the forensic report involves several people.
“An investigation should also be conducted into how this fabricated forensic report was procured. Which officials were involved? Was government money used? Were bribes paid to obtain this report? Does this involve money laundering? All these issues now fall within the scope of investigation. They must thoroughly be probed, and appropriate action should be taken,” he said.
Chadha also alleged that the AAP has challenged the Akal Takht Sahib and hurt the sentiments of Sikhs.
“They made various remarks against it, deployed paid trolls on social media and committed the sin of making derogatory comments about it. The entire Sikh sangat, the followers of Guru Nanak, are hurt today. They are angry and outraged,” he alleged.
Referring to his exit from the AAP, Chadha said he considers himself fortunate to have left the party.
“I believe that God has specially blessed me by ensuring that I distanced myself from this anti-Panth, Guru-betraying Aam Aadmi Party at the right time,” he said.
Mann has dismissed the video controversy, saying it is “false propaganda” aimed at defaming him.
The Punjab unit of the AAP has also claimed that forensic tests conducted at two laboratories have shown that the man in the video is not the chief minister.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
