Amid the unabated controversy over a video allegedly linked to actions by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann amounting to sacrilege under a new law, and a stand-off between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Akal Takht, the highest Sikh temporal seat, the ruling party appears to be navigating uncomfortable terrain, with the Opposition stepping up pressure on the government ahead of the next State Assembly election in early 2027.

On Wednesday (June 24, 2026), a day after Haryana Police arrested two men for allegedly conspiring to prepare forged forensic and cyber analysis reports in connection with the purported video of Mr. Mann, Opposition parties, including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) launched an all-out attack on the AAP.

SAD leaders demanded the matter should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a probe. “Only a CBI probe can get to the bottom of this issue as it has become an inter-State case and there is a money trail which needs to be investigated,” senior SAD leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal said.

Punjab Congress leaders demanded Mr. Mann’s immediate resignation and the registration of a First Information Report (FIR) against him under the new sacrilege law. All doubts would be removed that the AAP government was trying to cover up its lies if an FIR was registered in Gurugram, senior Punjab Congress leaders said at a press conference here. “Mr. Mann must present himself before Akal Takht and seek forgiveness,” State Congress committee president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring said.

Senior BJP leader and former Punjab president Sunil Jakhar said that Mr. Mann’s video was not a political issue but one connected to religious sentiments. “This is the issue of how an arrogant person is challenging the supreme Sri Akal Takht Sahib,” Mr. Jakhar said.

The Akal Takht has asked the Haryana Police to “investigate the matter with complete seriousness and expose every individual involved in this conspiracy and ensure strict punishment for them”.

Fake video: Mann

A fake video had been deliberately created and circulated to defame him after his political opponents failed to challenge the work done by his government for the people of Punjab, Mr. Mann said in a reaction to the controversy. The Opposition was misleading people in the name of religion and resorting to petty politics, he said, adding, “Those who have no issue left against my government are now trying to tarnish my image through fabricated propaganda.”

The Punjab government had the video examined by forensics laboratories, he said, however, “Those who own and operate that laboratory are being targeted because the BJP, Akali Dal and Congress have united against me,” Mr. Mann alleged.

He also questioned the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee(SGPC), the religious body overseeing the administration of historical gurdwaras. “Politics has fallen to a very low level because they have no other way to oppose me. They continuously try to defame me through one accusation or another. Now the SGPC has ordered the putting up of posters outside Gurdwara Sahibs calling for my boycott. Why were similar posters not put up against the Akali Dal (SAD) or Sukhbir Singh Badal (SAD president) after they admitted responsibility for incidents of sacrilege?” he said.

Controversial video

In October 2025, a video of a person resembling Mr. Mann was released on social media platforms, which allegedly showed him sprinkling alcohol on images of Sikh gurus. Following this, the Punjab Police registered an FIR. In January 2026, the Akal Takht summoned Mr. Mann regarding the allegations. Mr. Mann said the person in the video was not him.

On June 15, 2026, the Sikh clergy at Akal Takht declared Mr. Mann ‘Guru Dokhi’ (a betrayer of the Guru) and ‘Khalsa Panth Virodhi’ (opponent of the Sikh Khalsa Panth), alleging he had made false statements in connection with the objectionable video. Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, pronouncing the edict, said the video had been confirmed as authentic by two forensic laboratories.

On June 18, the AAP said forensic tests by two independent laboratories had found no match between the person in the video and Mr. Mann.