Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab State Media In-Charge Baltej Pannu on Monday said that after losing the trust of the people and facing repeated electoral defeats, the Badal family and Shiromani Akali Dal have dragged revered Sikh institutions into their political battle in a desperate bid to regain relevance. He asserted that the so-called forensic report being used to target CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has failed to establish even the identity of the person seen in the video, exposing what he described as another failed attempt by Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia to defame the Chief Minister.
Baltej Pannu said the same Badal family under whose rule Punjab witnessed beadbi incidents, Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan tragedies is now trying to claim moral authority, while remaining unable to digest the fact that the Bhagwant Mann Government has enacted Punjab’s toughest law against beadbi and delivered transformative governance through initiatives ranging from increased canal water reach and daytime power for farmers to ₹10 lakh health insurance for families.
Addressing a press conference, AAP Punjab State Media In-charge Baltej Pannu said Sri Akal Takht Sahib is the supreme and most revered institution of Sikhs across the world and cannot be treated as the personal estate of Sukhbir Singh Badal or the Shiromani Akali Dal. “Sri Akal Takht Sahib belongs to the entire Panth across the world, not to Sukhbir Singh Badal or the Shiromani Akali Dal. The Jathedar Sahib was appointed in the middle of the night at the behest of Sukhbir Badal without consulting Sikh sects or organisations, and at a place where there was not even Parkash of Sri Guru Granth Sahib.”
Baltej Pannu asserted, “Under such circumstances, his loyalty towards the Badal family and the statement of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) President Harjinder Singh Dhami describing himself as a soldier of Sukhbir Badal are proof of the politicisation of these revered Sikh institutions.”
Questioning the forensic report released in connection with the controversial video, Baltej Pannu said, “The report nowhere states who the person visible in the video actually is. Even if we accept the claim that the video was not generated through AI, the Jathedar must explain what the height of the individual seen in the video is. Does the height of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann match the height of the person visible in the footage? Which hotel room is it where photographs of Guru Sahib are displayed, as is being claimed? The report has completely failed to establish who is actually visible in the video.”
Baltej Pannu added, “In the coming days, the Aam Aadmi Party will place the complete truth before the people and expose every aspect of this controversy.”
Recalling incidents of beadbi and subsequent developments during the Akali Dal government, Baltej Pannu said the history of the Shiromani Akali Dal contains several dark chapters that continue to haunt Punjab. “In 2015, the sacred bir of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji was stolen from Burj Jawahar Singh Wala. Sikhs were challenged through offensive posters and later the holy parts of Guru Sahib were found scattered in garbage heaps. At that time, Sukhbir Singh Badal and his associates, who repeatedly came to power wearing the mask of Panthic politics, remained asleep,” said Baltej Pannu.
He further stated, “The Justice Zora Singh Commission report was suppressed. Attempts were made to bury the issue by offering police jobs to witnesses. Copies of the Justice Ranjit Singh Commission report were sold outside the Punjab Assembly at scrap value. Every possible effort was made to destroy evidence related to the Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan firing incidents. As a result, people such as Sukhbir Singh Badal, Sumedh Saini and Umranangal are today roaming free on bail granted by the courts. They fear that the investigation into Behbal Kalan will soon become a noose around their necks.”
Baltej Pannu said that after the people of Punjab gave a massive mandate to the Aam Aadmi Party in 2022 and formed the government under CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, traditional political parties struggled to come to terms with the changing political landscape. “Their initial propaganda was that this government would not survive three months or even a year. When the government started delivering results and CM Bhagwant Singh Mann went to the hospital for a health check-up, their frustration reached such a level that Bikram Singh Majithia resorted to low-level politics by displaying a video of the Chief Minister’s daughter during a press conference. However, the people of Punjab were not influenced by such tactics,” he said.
Highlighting the achievements of the Bhagwant Mann Government, Baltej Pannu said nearly four-and-a-half years into office, the government continues to enjoy the confidence of the people. “Under the leadership of CM Bhagwant Singh Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party has registered historic victories in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha by-election, the by-elections in Gidderbaha, Dera Baba Nanak and Tarn Taran, as well as municipal corporation, municipal council and thousands of sarpanch elections. These victories were not achieved through force or police power but through development and by ending the era of gangsterism and intimidation that prevailed until 2017,” said Baltej Pannu.
He added, “The Bhagwant Mann Government increased canal water reach from 21 per cent to 80 per cent, ensured daytime electricity for farmers, provided 600 units of free electricity to households, deployed the Sadak Surakhiya Force on roads and introduced health insurance cards offering cashless treatment worth ₹10 lakh to the people.”
Baltej Pannu said the biggest challenge for the Shiromani Akali Dal is that the same CM Bhagwant Singh Mann whom they repeatedly attempted to defame has enacted strict legislation to protect the sanctity of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. “CM Bhagwant Singh Mann has introduced historic amendments to the Satkar Act and implemented a strict law to prevent beadbi of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji. Now, anyone committing beadbi will have to face punishment. The Act has been passed and, after receiving the Governor’s assent, has come into force,” he said.
Baltej Pannu further stated, “The Badal family, which considered itself the sole custodian of Panthic interests and which pushed an entire generation of Punjab into the quagmire of chitta between 2007 and 2017, is unable to digest this strict law enacted on the sacred land of Guru Nanak Dev Ji. In its frustration, it has now played its last political card and, unfortunately, has fielded the Jathedar of Sri Akal Takht Sahib as a pawn in its political battle. However, the intelligent and aware people of Punjab will never allow such designs to succeed.”
