Bhagwant Mann

Bhagwant Mann was born on 17 October 1973 at Satoj village in Sangrur district. Before politics he was a stage and television comedian, known as Jugnu. He joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in March 2014 and won the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat in 2014 and 2019. AAP named him its chief ministerial candidate on 18 January 2022 after a public poll, he won Dhuri, and AAP took 92 of 117 seats. He took the oath as Chief Minister on 16 March 2022 at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh, and was still in office in October 2026. He is a living politician, and what is said of him below is attributed to those who said it.

His part in this history is as head of the Punjab government in its dealings with Sikh political detainees and with the Panth's institutions.

Amritpal Singh's detention. The Tribune reported on 16 April 2026 that the Punjab government had passed three detention orders against the Khadoor Sahib MP Amritpal Singh, who had been in preventive detention since April 2023. As the last National Security Act order neared its end, the state asked the High Court to let it arrest him in a pending case and keep him in Dibrugarh jail in Assam. Its counsel told the court the state did not want him in Punjab. The Tribune attributes these decisions to the state government and does not name Mann.

The Satkar Act. The Vidhan Sabha passed the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill unanimously on 13 April 2026, and it was notified on 20 April. SCC Online reports that it sets a minimum of seven years, extendable to twenty, for sacrilege of a Saroop, and ten years to life where it is part of a criminal conspiracy. It makes the offences non-bailable and requires the SGPC to keep a Central Register of Saroops with a unique number for each. The Quint reports that the AAP government framed the amendment as a historic correction. The Akal Takht says it was passed without consulting central Sikh institutions, summoned Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on 8 May and asked for amendments. The Wire reports that Mann has refused to amend or repeal it.

The video and the Guru Dokhi declaration. A viral video allegedly shows a man sprinkling liquor on a picture of the Sikh Gurus. The Akal Takht says Mann told it on 15 January 2026 that the video was AI-generated, and that two government-recognised labs, in reports dated 27 May and 13 June, found it authentic. On 15 June 2026 the five Singh Sahiban declared him Guru Dokhi and Khalsa Panth virodhi, and directed Sikhs not to associate with him. Mann says he is not the person in the video and calls it false propaganda. AAP's Punjab media in-charge, Baltej Pannu, said the forensic report does not identify the person. ThePrint notes that because he is not an Amritdhari Sikh the Takht cannot pronounce tankhaiya on him, so its action is moral censure. Congress, the Akali Dal and the BJP have sought his resignation. The journalist Jaspal Singh Sidhu called the decision politically motivated, while the sociologist Manjit Singh said it will certainly affect AAP's poll prospects.

The forensic-report case. On 23 June 2026 Gurugram Police arrested two men after a complaint from a digital forensics worker from Sirsa, who alleged he was pressured, and that about 10 lakh rupees in cash was provided, to get reports saying the video was AI-manipulated. The PTI report does not say who allegedly directed the effort, and no court outcome has been reported. AAP Punjab president Aman Arora said Haryana Police is under BJP control. The Akal Takht also summoned Sikh ministers and MLAs of all parties, though not Mann, for 29 June, and The Tribune reports that AAP MLAs appeared.