Hoshiarpur/ Chandigarh:Hoardings calling for the social boycott of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann have surfaced at several places including Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Bathinda and Amritsar in the state.
The posters also mention the June 15 edict of the Sikh Clergy pronounced from the podium of the Akal Takht, declaring Mann 'Guru Dokhi' (anti-Guru) and 'Khalsa Panth Virodhi' (anti-Khalsa Panth) over a controversial video.
The Akal Takht had summoned Mann in January this year for allegedly making comments on 'Guru ki Golak' (gurdwara donation box) and indulging in "objectionable activities" with the pictures of the Sikh Gurus and slain militant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the purported video clip.
In Hoshiarpur, posters have come up at various locations including near Gurdwara Harian Velan village Bajrawar on the Hoshiarpur-Chandigarh road, near Chabbewal bus stop, in front of Gurdwara Shaheedan Ladhewali in Mahilpur, Tuto Majara village, old bus stand Mahilpur and Gurdwara Garna Sahib Dasuya.
In a post on X, the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has said that these boards have been installed "to make the 'sangat' aware about the order issued by Sri Akal Takht Sahib in the matter concerning the chief minister".
While pronouncing the edict on June 15 against Chief Minister Mann, Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargajj had directed the Sikh community "not to associate with him".
On Thursday, Mann questioned the role of the SGPC over the installation of such boards.
Mann said, "Boards have been put up outside gurdwaras asking people to boycott me in the name of the orders of Sri Akal Takht Sahib, whose supreme authority I fully respect along with the entire Sikh Sangat across the world."
He questioned why similar boards were not installed against former Akali leader Sukhbir Singh Badal when he was declared "tankhaiya".
"Why were such boards not put up against Sukhbir Badal when he was declared 'tankhaiya' (guilty of religious misconduct)? Why were people not asked to boycott those held responsible for sacrilege incidents and police firing?" he said.
"When the SGPC president himself says he is a soldier of Sukhbir Badal rather than Guru Gobind Singh Ji, it becomes clear where his loyalties lie," Mann said on Thursday.
On Friday, in a Facebook post, Mann said, "No tactic of the opponents is succeeding in stopping the path of truth and service. Those who present themselves as soldiers of a political party rather than of the 'Panth' have now had their true face exposed before the people.
"We were true servants of the Guru's house yesterday, we are today and we will always remain so in the future."
Addressing the media in Mohali on Thursday, Mann showed a purported video clip to claim that the person seen in the controversial video was wearing a mask which resembles his face.
On January 15, when Mann had appeared before the Akal Takht in Amritsar, he had submitted that the video was fake or AI-generated and that the 'Singh Sahib' (Sikh Clergy) could get its forensic examination done from any lab in the country.
On June 18, the chief minister reiterated that it was not him in the objectionable video and claimed that some actor was imitating him. He cited reports of two labs showing that the man in the alleged objectionable video was someone else.
Mann on Thursday said a mask resembling him was procured and used to create the fabricated video.
He said a surgical scar on his throat was also not visible on that man in the video, stressing that he was not in the purported video.
Opposition parties slammed Mann for his claim, calling it a "weak excuse" and an attempt to mislead people.