The uproar over the purported video containing “disparaging” remarks on Guru Tegh Bahadur by senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi, which the Punjab police have claimed is “doctored”, intensified in Delhi and Punjab on Sunday.

New Delhi

The uproar over the purported video containing “disparaging” remarks on Guru Tegh Bahadur by senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi, which the Punjab police have claimed is “doctored”, intensified in Delhi and Punjab on Sunday.

While Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of provoking communal unrest in the State by sharing a “tampered” video of Ms. Atishi on social media, AAP workers staged a demonstration outside the BJP headquarters demanding the resignation of Law Minister Kapil Mishra for sharing the “fake” video on social media.

Meanwhile, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva posted the purported video on X and urged party workers to do the same. He dared AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal and the Punjab government to register FIRs against him and BJP workers.

The background

The row started on January 7, when BJP MLAs held a protest, demanding the cancellation of Ms. Atishi’s Assembly membership over the purported comment that they alleged the former Delhi Chief Minister had made in the House the previous day. On January 8, AAP accused Mr. Mishra of posting online an “edited” and “fake” clip of Ms. Atishi, the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Delhi. A day later, the Punjab police registered an FIR regarding the “doctored” video posted by Mr. Mishra on X. In response, Delhi Speaker Vijender Gupta on Saturday issued notices to senior Punjab police officers over their “unwarranted interference with the property of the House”, even as protests over the purported remarks picked up steam in Punjab, with the Opposition parties demanding the LoP’s arrest.

‘Divisive politics’

Hitting out at the BJP for sharing an “edited” video of Ms. Atishi, saying it amounted to “beadbi (sacrilege)”, Mr. Mann said his government would not allow “politics of hatred” to spread in the State. “Ever since its inception, the BJP has pursued the politics of communalism, divisiveness and hatred. With the Punjab Assembly election approaching, the party has started implementing this agenda in Punjab to divide people on sectarian lines,” alleged Mr. Mann. The State will go to the polls in 2027.

He added, “The BJP had morphed the video of the former Delhi Chief Minister by inserting its own subtitles. Even the forensic investigation [by Punjab Police] has clearly established that the word ‘Guru’ was never used by the AAP leader.”

Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj demanded a public apology for the “beadabi committed by BJP Ministers and leaders against the Guru Sahib” and sought legal action against them.

‘Not afraid’

Hitting back, Mr. Sachdeva said BJP workers in Delhi “aren’t afraid of baseless FIRs”. “Arvind Kejriwal is now apprehensive that his government in Punjab is also on the verge of collapse. In this state of panic, he is misusing the police force to intimidate the people of Delhi and BJP workers,” he said.