Bhagwant Mann denies being drunk at Sikh religious ceremony in Faridkot

Bhagwant Mann, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Sangrur MP, has denied that he arrived drunk at a bhog ceremony in Faridkot for two youths who were killed in police firing during protests against the desecration of the Sikh holy book, the Guru Granth Sahib. The Indian Express reports that Jagtar Singh, the former granthi of Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, confronted Mann when he found him to be emitting a ‘foul smell’ on stage. Singh then reportedly told Mann to leave the ceremony and the politician did so immediately. As he was walking away from the venue, a few youths accosted him and accused him of being drunk. A video of this harassment went viral online. [caption id=“attachment_2423818” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Bhagwant Mann. IBNLive[/caption] However, Mann claimed that he was not drunk at the ceremony. In a post on his Facebook page, Mann wrote that this news was completely false and was an attempt to defame him. He added that he could not ever imagine doing such a thing and it was an attempt to divert attention away from the real issues of the people. “Mai sache dilon loka de haq Di ladai Jari rakhanga (I will continue the fight for people’s rights with a true heart),” he wrote. An Australia-based website that covers the Sikh community, The Singh Station, reports that Mann clarified on Facebook that he left the stage for other reasons. Firstly, he reportedly found out that Punjab Convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur would be the only one speaking on behalf of the AAP. Secondly, the stage host repeatedly announced that there were too many people on stage and it was likely to crash, so those who have already spoken or are not going to speak, should please step down. Thirdly, he was also worried that he was being watched by a few suspicious persons. A few youth even came over to him and asked him why he had not raised the issue of Bapu Surat Singh Khalsa. Since he did not have any security cover, he felt it was prudent to leave the venue.