‘Akal Takht’ Declares CM Mann ‘Guru’s Betrayer’ & ‘Anti-Khalsa Panth’

June

2026

Sri Akal Takht Sahib (Eternal Throne, AT) acting Jathedar (leader) Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj said on 15 Jun that two controversial videos allegedly related to Panjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had been found authentic during forensic examination. Giani Gargajj said, 'When the CM was summoned to the Akal Takht on 15 Jan, he was asked about the videos. He stated that the video was fake and had been generated using artificial intelligence.’ Protecting the identity of the laboratories from political pressure, Giani Gargajj said one was located in Panjab and another was a national laboratory. In one of the videos, CM Mann is purportedly seen sprinkling alcohol on the portraits of Sikh Gurus. Following a meeting of the Panj Sikh Sahiban (Five Loved Ones), Giani Gargajj declared CM Mann Guru Dokhi (Guru's betrayer) and Khalsa Panth Virodhi (anti-Sikh Collective). He also directed the Sikh Panth to have no connection with CM Mann. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said the laboratory reports did not make it clear who the person was in the video. AAP Panjab media in-charge Baltej Singh Pannu said, 'The so-called forensic report being used to target CM Mann has failed to identify the person seen in the video.' On 16 Jun, CM Mann said the video was not his and this was a political conspiracy against him. Giani Gargajj also summoned all Sikh Members of Panjab Legislative Assembly irrespective of political parties on 29 Jun over objections to the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Act, 2026, saying the legislation was enacted without consulting the Sikhs. Meanwhile, after 14 years, a Sikh group comprising 541 members left from the office of Sikh apex management body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), for the historic Gurdwaras in Pakistan to mark the martyrdom anniversary of the fifth Sikh Sovereign, Guru Arjan. While pilgrims from Panjab proceeded to Pakistan, a 94-member Sikh group from Haryana was forced to return from the Attari-Wagah international border after failing to receive the required government clearance from Pakistan. The Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Jagdish Singh Jhinda accepted the responsibility for the lapse but blamed the Haryana government for delaying the notification of the visit (earlier coverage).