A video depicting a large crowd chasing and attacking a man in a yellow turban is circulating widely on social media. The claim accompanying the video suggests that the man being assaulted is Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The video was shared on X (formerly Twitter) with a Hindi caption that translates to “Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann was thrashed in Punjab.” 

However, the video in question is not related to Punjab or Mr Mann.

Fact Check

A reverse image search of keyframes from the viral video led fact checker Logicall Facts to a longer version posted on Facebook by JK Rozana News on April 13, 2024. The Hindi description translates to “Breaking Jammu-Uproar in Yuva Jat Sabha rally, Amandeep Singh Boparai attacked.” Amandeep Singh Boparai is a social activist and president of the Yuva Jatt Sabha, an organization dedicated to the welfare and upliftment of the Jatt community in Jammu and Kashmir.

Following this lead, they searched for news reports about an attack on Boparai. They found another video shared on Facebook by a local news network in Jammu and Kashmir, JK Channel, on April 13, 2024. This eight-minute video, shot from a different angle, shows scenes similar to those in the viral clip. At 7:50 minutes into the video, we can see identical features – the white car, the blue bus, and the river passage alongside the road – as seen in the viral clip. The video description reads, “Amandeep Boparai was detained by the police, what happened in Gol Gujral.”

We also discovered that Boparai addressed the attack on him during a live video on Facebook, alleging that the attack was pre-planned to create discord between Hindus and Sikhs during the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. On May 17, Boparai shared a post on Facebook stating that the video of an attack on him in Jammu was being falsely associated with Mann. We have contacted him for clarification and will update this article with his response when we receive it.

The man in the yellow turban seen in the viral clip can also be seen in the video shared by JK Channel and on Boparai’s Facebook Live.

In an interview with Hindi news network Punjab Kesari, Boparai stated that a mob attacked a rally organized by the Yuva Jatt Sabha in Gol Gujral, Jammu. He revealed that he had been receiving threatening messages from Pakistani mobile numbers for several months, which had raised concerns about such an attack. Boparai reported that approximately 20 individuals assaulted him and his workers.

In Punjab, polling for 13 parliamentary constituencies will take place in a single phase during the seventh and final phase of voting, scheduled for June 1, 2024.

The verdict

The viral video depicts a mob assaulting Amandeep Singh Boparai, President of the Yuva Jatt Sabha, in Gol Gujral, Jammu, during a rally in April 2024. It has no connection to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. Therefore, we have marked this claim as false.

(This story was originally published by Logically Facts, and republished by NDTV as part of the Shakti Collective)

New Delhi:

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal — out of Tihar Jail on interim bail — told people during a roadshow today that he would not have to go back to jail if they vote for him.  “I have to go back to jail after 20 days. If you choose jhadu (AAP’s symbol), I won’t have to go back to jail,” the Chief Minister said.

Accompanied by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann, Mr Kejriwal held a roadshow in Moti Nagar in support of Somnath Bharti, the party’s candidate for the New Delhi seat.

“They sent me to jail because I worked for you. The BJP does not want that work of Delhi people are done,” he said.  

“If I went back to jail, the BJP would stop your work, free electricity, degrade schools and shut down hospitals and Mohalla Clinics,” he said.

Delhi votes for its seven Lok Sabha seats on May 25.

The AAP chief — arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case — is out on interim bail till June 1. He has to surrender on June 2.

Sangrur:

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has an “understanding” with Union Home Minister Amit Shah to split AAP into a separate Punjab unit after the elections, like Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde did in Maharashtra, SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal claimed on Saturday.

Badal made the claim while addressing rallies at Sunam and Dhuri for the Shiromani Akali Dal’s (SAD) Sangrur candidate Iqbal Singh Jhundan.

“Bhagwant Mann has compromised with the BJP as he felt he would also be arrested like his boss (Arvind) Kejriwal because he had also perpetrated the same liquor scam as done by AAP in Delhi. This understanding has saved him from arrest,” Badal alleged.

Shiv Sena leader Shinde became Maharashtra chief minister after parting ways with Uddhav Thackeray and forming an alliance with the BJP.

The Election Commission of India has since recognised the Shinde faction as officially representing the Shiv Sena while the Thackeray-led faction has been using the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) name.

The Shiromani Akali Dal chief also asserted that no Delhi-based party can be trusted with votes.

“Bhagwant Mann has opened channels with both the BJP and the Congress to hedge his bet. While he has an informal understanding with the BJP, he has also aligned with the Congress in Punjab and is putting up a friendly fight in most constituencies,” Badal said.

He cited how AAP is contesting against the Congress in Punjab but Mann has been campaigning for the grand old party in Chandigarh and Haryana.

AAP and the Congress are constituents of the opposition INDIA bloc. While the two parties are contesting the Lok Sabha elections independently in Punjab, they have an alliance in Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana and Chandigarh.

Urging Punjabis to “seal the borders” for all Delhi-based parties, Badal said, “The AAP government in Punjab and the Union government colluded to prevent our farmers from marching to Delhi. This led to firing of tear gas shells at our farmers and even firing of rubber bullets. Now it is your turn to seal the borders of Punjab with your votes.” He also made a case for trusting the Shiromani Akali Dal — a home-grown party of Punjab.

Badal said the Shiromani Akali Dal has always stood for safeguarding the interests of Punjab and decided to contest the Lok Sabha elections alone when it became clear that the BJP was not ready to resolve any of the pending grievances of the farmers or the Sikh community.

He also announced that once the Shiromani Akali Dal is elected to power, it will release tubewell connections to all agriculturists who do not have a single connection in their name.

He also promised that all social welfare schemes that have been curtailed by successive Congress and AAP governments would be revived in totality.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today met his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail and said the AAP chief asked him to actively campaign for INDIA bloc candidates in the Lok Sabha elections.

Mr Mann told reporters that Mr Kejriwal’s health is fine, he is getting insulin and undergoing regular check-ups.

The Delhi chief minister asked people not to worry about him and exercise their franchise during the elections, he said.

This was Mr Mann’s second meeting in jail with Mr Kejriwal in a fortnight.

Bhagwant Mann told reporters that he met Mr Kejriwal the same way he met him the first time.

“We were separated by an iron mesh. This could be the height of their hatred. Arvind Kejriwal has asked me to tell people not to worry about him and vote. Please vote to save democracy,” Mr Mann said.

The Punjab chief minister said he told Mr Kejriwal that he recently visited Gujarat to campaign for the party’s candidates in Bharuch and Bhavnagar.

“There was a mind-blowing response. The entire country is saying that whatever happened with Mr Kejriwal was wrong. I also went to Assam. He asked me to come to Delhi and also campaign for INDIA bloc candidates in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and wherever I am called,” Mr Mann said.

“These elections are not about winning or losing. It is about saving the Constitution and democracy,” he added.

The Punjab chief minister said Mr Kejriwal also enquired about the wellbeing of his daughter.

“We talked about our families. He asked about my daughter Niyamat, who is one month old now. He asked how the farm produce has been in Punjab and if any facilities are being affected due to the Model Code of Conduct,” according to Mr Mann.

“I told him that people are getting all the facilities. I informed him that 158 children from Punjab government schools have cleared the JEE (Mains). This is the first time it has happened. He was quite happy. This was the education revolution of our dreams. He congratulated the teachers, parents and the children,” he added.

On Monday, Mr Kejriwal’s wife Sunita and Delhi Minister Atishi met him.

Arvind Kejriwal has been lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case since April 1.
 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

The next government at the Centre cannot be formed without AAP’s support, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Sunday.

He claimed the INDIA bloc would win 120-125 of the 190 seats that went to the polls in the first two phases of the Lok Sabha elections, and expressed confidence that the opposition alliance will assume power at the Centre after the polls.

Mann also announced that on April 30, he will meet AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in Tihar jail, where he is lodged in an excise policy-linked money laundering case.

“AAP will be a partner in the (next) government. The next government cannot be formed without AAP’s support,” the Punjab CM said.

The Kejriwal-led party is a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc. However, it is contesting the Lok Sabha polls independently in Punjab.

Addressing a gathering in Barnala in support of AAP’s Sangrur candidate Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Mann said the constituency is and will always be AAP’s “capital (stronghold)”.

He claimed that AAP chief Kejriwal deeply cares about Sangrur and always asks about it.

“Last time I went to meet him in jail, he first asked about Sangrur. I told him the next time I come to meet him, I would tell him the ground reality. Today, seeing the enthusiasm of the people here, it is clear that we are winning Sangrur by a huge margin,” Mann said.

Attacking his rival parties, Mann said the Shiromani Akali Dal, BJP and the Congress are not able to find candidates for Punjab’s 13 Lok Sabha seats.

“Their leaders are refusing to contest the elections because they know defeat is certain. Their plight is the result of their misdeeds,” he said.

Listing the achievements of his two-year-old dispensation, Mann said, “We have made electricity free for 90 per cent of households. We have already closed 14 toll plazas, bringing financial relief to people. The previous government used to extend the period of toll plazas by taking money.” 

He also claimed that the state government arranged for 11 hours of uninterrupted electricity every day for the farming community.

“We also supplied canal water to about 60 per cent of Punjab’s area to save electricity and groundwater. By October, this figure will increase to 70 per cent,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mann also took out a road show in Ludhiana in favour of party candidate Ashok Parashar Pappi on Sunday evening.

Addressing the gathering, he said Ludhiana is the “heart” of Punjab and “winning from here means winning Punjab’s heart”.

Calling Ludhiana his ‘karambhoomi’, the CM said he started his career as a comedian from here in 1991.

Mann said he has been getting a very good response from all the places he’s been visiting for campaign, and asked the people of Ludhiana to press the button of ‘broom’ (party symbol) on June 1 to ensure victory of his party’s nominees.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu has claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had approached him once expressing his readiness to join the party.

Mr Sidhu said this during an interview to a media outlet when asked about rumours that he may join the BJP and whether the party had approached him. He shared a clip of the interview on his X handle.

There was no immediate response from Mann to Mr Sidhu’s claims.

“I can tell you one thing about who had approached (me). Bhagwant Mann sahab had come to me. If he tells, I will even tell him the place (where they met),” Mr Sidhu said.

“He told me paaji, I am ready to be your deputy if I get him to join the Congress. And he also told me that if you come to the Aam Aadmi Party, still he was ready to be my deputy,” the Congress leader said.

Mr Sidhu further claimed that he told Mr Mann that he is committed to Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and it’s not possible for him to leave them.

Mr Sidhu said he told Mann that if he wants, he is welcome to join the Congress and that he should talk to the party leadership in Delhi.

After this, there was no further discussion, he added.

Mr Sidhu said his sole aim is to serve the people of Punjab.

He targeted the Mann-led AAP government over Punjab’s “mounting debt”, saying, “They move in aircraft and luxury vehicles but debt has to be paid by Punjabis.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

The Punjab Assembly on Monday witnessed chaotic scenes during the discussion on the state budget when Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann engaged in a heated argument with the Congress leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa following the former’s request to the Governor to “lock” the opposition in the assembly.

Before the beginning of the discussion on the budget, Chief Minister Mann handed over an envelope to the governor, stating that he had brought a gift for him. The envelope contained a lock and a key.

The Chief Minister, then, asked the governor to lock the opposition inside the assembly, so that they could not “run away” during the discussion, which later triggered a heated argument between LoP Bajwa and the Chief Minister.

#WATCH | Chandigarh: Amid the heated argument between Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Congress MLA and LoP Partap Singh Bajwa in the state assembly, CM Bhagwant Mann says, “Who does Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi sit with? With me. Have you ever sat with them? On one hand, you are… pic.twitter.com/xilZG9L5qM

— ANI (@ANI) March 4, 2024

An agitated chief minister Mann asked Bajwa to tell the central leadership of the Congress not to “bother” giving seats to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

“Who does Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi sit with? With me. Have you ever sat with them? On the one hand, you are making agreements (on seat sharing) with us. Go and tell them (Sonia and Rahul Gandhi) not to give Kurukshetra, Delhi and Gujarat (Lok Sabha) seats for us,” Mr Mann said.

Later, the house was adjourned for 15 minutes.

LoP Partap Singh Bajwa, while speaking to the reporters, said, “The Chief Minister said that the Congress does not know how to listen hence the doors of the Assembly should be locked from inside… Are we labourers? We have not seen such a weak Speaker… The CM used inappropriate words for everyone.

“When the heated argument was going on, the Chief Minister asked me if I would contest against him in the elections. I told him that from wherever he will contest from Punjab, I will stand against him. I have accepted his challenge openly,” he added.

The AAP and the Congress, allies in the INDIA bloc, have decided to go for a ‘friendly fight’ in Punjab, given the latter is the opposition in the state.

Earlier, the two parties closed their seat-sharing deal in Delhi, Haryana, Goa, Chandigarh and Gujarat.

As part of the agreement reached between the ruling party in Delhi and the grand old party, Congress will contest 3 of the 7 Lok Sabha seats in the national capital while the AAP will field candidates in the remaining 4 constituencies.

In neighbouring Gujarat, the Congress will contest 24 of 26 Lok Sabha seats, leaving the remaining 2–Bharuch and Bhavnagar– for the AAP.

In Haryana, the Congress will contest 8 of the 9 Lok Sabha seats while the AAP will contest the lone seat–Kurukshetra.

The two parties also reached a consensus on the grand old party contesting the prized Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.

As part of the seat-sharing deal, the Congress will contest both the Lok Sabha seats in Goa.

The Lok Sabha polls are expected to be held in April-May this year.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Parambans Singh Romana was arrested on Thursday for allegedly sharing a “morphed” video clip of a Punjabi singer purportedly making objectionable remarks against Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, police said.

According to an FIR registered against Mr Romana at the Mataur police station in Mohali, the SAD general secretary shared the video of singer Kanwar Grewal to “harm the reputation” of the Punjab chief minister for political gains.

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal and other leaders condemned the arrest and several party workers held a protest outside the office of Mohali senior superintendent of police.

Mr Romana also accused Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government of trying to suppress the voice of people while his party dubbed the arrest as a political vendetta.

AAP leader Malvinder Singh Kang attacked the SAD over the incident and accused the opposition party of indulging in low-level politics.

“No matter how many false videos the Akali Dal leaders spread, people of Punjab are never going to believe the Badal family again,” he added.

After the video was shared on the social media platform X, Mr Grewal released a video message alleging somebody altered the audio of one of his stage performances to show him making derogatory remarks against the chief minister.

The singer claimed the voice heard in the video clip was not his and it was doctored.

Mr Badal, meanwhile, submitted a complaint to Mohali SSP Sandeep Garg against Chief Minister Mann for allegedly uploading several morphed and defamatory videos from his official social media handle and demanded immediate action against him.

He added that the video on the basis of which Mr Romana was arrested has been in circulation since 2016 and many political leaders have uploaded it on their pages.

“Action should be taken against the person who morphed the video and not Mr Romana,” the SAD leader said.

Mr Badal also alleged that the Punjab Police was acting “like a stooge” of the chief minister.

“AAP and its top leadership regularly upload morphed videos as well as defamatory content on social media against us. Police should register cases against them, including Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, as per our complaint,” he said.

The case against Mr Romana was registered under various sections, including 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 469 (forgery for harming reputation), 500 (punishment for defamation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Information Technology Act, police said.

The FIR was registered on a complaint filed by Inspector Sandeep Singh, Cyber Crime Mohali.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Chandigarh:

The two-day Punjab assembly session was cut short on its first day Friday with the AAP government announcing it would move the Supreme Court against the governor for not approving the three Bills that were to be tabled in the House.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit had termed the session illegal and withheld his approval to the revenue-related Bills, escalating the tussle between him and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. In the House, Bhagwant Mann attacked the governor calling him “laat sahab” once and telling him that he is behaving as if Punjab is under Governor’s Rule or like he is the lieutenant governor of Delhi.

Expressing displeasure over the situation, Bhagwant Mann urged Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to adjourn the House sine die and said his government will move the Supreme court on October 30 against the governor over the issue.

The motion to adjourn the House was moved by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Balkar Singh and was passed by the assembly.

This is the second time this year that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will move the Supreme Court over differences with the governor on summoning an assembly session.

The surprise announcement by Bhagwant Mann came even after the speaker asserted that the session was legal.

Bhagwant Mann slammed Banwarilal Purohit for raising questions over the legality of the session called by his government and asked, “in a democracy, when we have been elected by the people, then why can’t we decide”.

He alleged that non-BJP ruled states such as Kerala, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, are also witnessing governor-state government tussles. Opposition parties should come together on this issue, the chief minister said.

Bhagwant Mann said the session can be of two days or 20 days, but one should not suspect its legality.

“Speaker sahab, I do not want this every day fight (with the governor) to escalate further,” Bhagwant Mann said and urged the speaker to adjourn the assembly sine die.

“I request you that we will not table any Bill till we ensure Punjabis that this session is legal and the governor will have to give approval to all Bills and also sign them afterwards,” he said and added that “we will knock the door of the Supreme Court in the coming days”.  The chief minister said that he knows that in the Supreme Court, “such (governor’s) letters do not stand”, and added that his government will move the Supreme court on October 30.

He said his government will call the session in the first week of November after approaching the Supreme Court.

For money Bills, approval of the governor is required, Bhagwant Mann said and added that “we are not getting the same”. He said his government had planned to bring Bills which were related to revenue.

“When money comes to the government, it spends it on people’s welfare. But unfortunately, our honourable governor raises questions on the legality of the session,” the chief minister said.

“Sometimes, questions are raised why we are giving power subsidy, why we gave bailout to PUNBUS (Punjab Roadways) and sometimes questions are raised about the state’s debt. We will reply to all the letters,” he said targeting the governor.

But it does not mean the governor will create obstacles in the path of the elected government every day, Bhagwant Mann said.

The chief minister claimed that an expenditure of Rs 25 lakh was incurred when his government had moved the Supreme Court earlier this year after the governor refused permission for the Budget Session.

On February 28, Banwarilal Purohit had told the Supreme Court that he has summoned the assembly for the Budget Session on March 3 even as the Supreme court told both sides — him and the state government — that constitutional discourse has to be conducted with a sense of decorum and mature statesmanship.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann alleged that hose governors who are creating problems for democratically elected non-BJP state governments are being rewarded and some competition is going on between these governors as to who will create more problems.

“There is a difference between taking oath and administering oath. If ‘laat sahab’ thinks he took oath on March 16 in Khatkar Kalan, then he should recall he had administered the oath,” said Bhagwant Mann as he took a swipe at Banwarilal Purohit.

Banwarilal Purohit had administered oath to Bhagwant Mann as chief minister at Khatkar Kalan on March 16 last year.

“If we do anything wrong, or transfer some SSP (senior superintendent of police) in a wrong manner, people will punish us in 2027 (next Punjab assembly elections). But where is it (said) that we have to tell why ‘patwari’ (revenue official) was transferred,” Bhagwant Mann said.

“He feels either there is Governor Rule in Punjab or he is the LG (lieutenant governor) like in Delhi,” the chief minister said attacking Banwarilal Purohit.

The AAP government on Friday went ahead with the session despite the governor’s secretariat having said that the October 20-21 session — being projected as an extension of the Budget Session — is “bound to be illegal” and any business conducted during it “unlawful”.

This is not the first time that the House has been convened after it was adjourned sine die, Bhagwant Mann said and gave an example of the Congress government which did the same in 2019. “You are questioning us, whether legal or illegal. We are saying it is legal,” he said.

The Punjab governor had on Thursday written to the chief minister, withholding his approval for the three Bills. “Strongly suggesting” the Bhagwant Mann government to call either a Monsoon or Winter session instead of choosing to continue on this “precarious course”, he had said.

Banwarilal Purohit had said if the government continued with the “patently illegal session”, he would be compelled to consider an appropriate course of action, including reporting the matter to the President.

Referring to the governor’s missive, Bhagwant Mann said in the letter, he has written that he will not give assent to the three Bills. “I today waited till the last minute (of any communication from the Governor’s House) that perhaps he would agree. One of the Bills was related to GST (Goods and Services Tax),” he said.

Bhagwant Mann said the governor said if this illegal session is continued, he will complain to the President.

Earlier too he had threatened Article 356 (President’s Rule), saying “we were not replying to his letters”, Bhagwant Mann said. A state is brought under direct rule of the Centre with the invocation of Article 356, usually after a report is sent by the governor.

The three Bills were the Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Indian Stamp (Punjab Amendment) Bill, 2023.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

India got its tallest national flag at the Attari-Wagah border today. The 418-foot-high flag is 18 feet taller than Pakistan’s.

The flag, installed by the National Highway Authority of India, was inaugurated today by Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann in Amritsar.

Inaugurating the Highest National Flag of 418 fts at Attari Border, Punjab
https://t.co/lEJG79zqRb

— Nitin Gadkari (@nitin_gadkari) October 19, 2023

The Pakistan flag, Parcham-e-Sitarah-o-Hilal, was installed this August on its side of the border.

The flag cost the NHAI a whopping Rs 3.5 crore and is 57 feet taller than the one second on the list of tallest national flags in India. The Tricolour in Karnataka’s Belagavi held the record earlier.