Bringing back Akali Dal to power would drag Punjab into dark era: CM Mann

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann hit out at Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday (January 18, 2026), cautioning the party’s return to power would plunge the State back into a dark era.

The Punjab government was compelled to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the missing 328 ‘saroops’ (sacred copies) of Guru Granth Sahib, the CM said, blaming the misdeeds of Akalis and the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) — the body responsible for the management of historical Gurdwaras. “Our only objective is to trace the missing saroops. We have no intention of interfering in religious institutions,” he said, addressing a public gathering at Majitha in Amritsar.

The Chief Minister reiterated the supremacy of Akal Takht — the highest Sikh temporal seat — and said, “Sri Akal Takht Sahib is above all of us. That is why I did not attend the function of the President of India and chose instead to appear before the Takht.”

He said that unlike his government, the Akalis have repeatedly undermined the authority of Sri Akal Takht Sahib. “Jathedars have been appointed and removed at their whims, dealing a severe blow to the sanctity of these institutions,” he said, adding that Congress party leaders have lost their political balance after facing continuous defeats.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Talbir Singh Gill will be the AAP’s candidate from Majitha in the 2027 Assembly elections, Mr. Mann declared.

AAP represents a new politics where people are not petitioners before power but partners in governance, the Chief Minister asserted. He said that Majitha will now send a representative who believes in decision-making, development and accountability, not intimidation and entitlement.