Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffered a setback Sunday when its MLA from Banga, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi, resigned from his cabinet-rank position and as chairman of the Punjab State Warehousing Corporation, in protest against the government’s claim that it had “recovered 139 unauthorised” Guru Granth Sahib from a gurdwara in his constituency.
The move comes amid a raging controversy sparked by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s announcement at the Maghi Mela in Muktsar Wednesday that the gurdwara in Banga was housing 169 Guru Granth Sahib, 139 of which he claimed were “unauthorised”. Mann projected their “recovery” as an achievement of his government in the allegedly missing 328 Guru Granth Sahib saroops (copies) case.
Sukhi won the 2022 assembly elections as an Akali Dal candidate but joined the AAP last August in Mann’s presence, after which he was given cabinet rank and the PSU post.
The gurdwara’s managing committee, at a press briefing Thursday, vehemently protested the government’s move, claiming that the Guru Granth Sahib shown as “recovered” were not from the missing 328 saroops.
“What authority does the chief minister have in questioning us where the saroops in the gurudwara have come from?” said Amrik Singh, a member of the gurudwara managing committee. He added that he was an active supporter of the AAP in the area and had decided to give up on the party.
The resignation has further strained the relationship between Mann and the Akal Takht, already fragile since the government revived a five-year-old controversy and registered a police case over alleged discrepancies in the printing and distribution of 328 saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib, which the Sikhs consider a living guru.
Political analysts say Mann is playing with fire.
“The government has no business getting into this prohibited area,” Jagrup Singh Sekhon, former professor in the department of political science at Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, told ThePrint.
“The government is trying to shift the focus of the people to a religious issue because it feels that it does not have much to show in terms of performance. The chief minister will have to face the music over this,” said Sekhon.
“The MLA’s resignation, too, is a political move. The problem is that those who should be limiting themselves to politics are getting into religion and those who should be limiting themselves to religion are getting into politics,” he added.
Others said the move could spiral out of control.
“History has clearly shown that political interference in religious matters is always bad news for those in power. Even a small mistake by the police can snowball into a huge thing,” said Manjit Singh, a former professor in the department of sociology at Panjab University, Chandigarh.
In a video message on his Facebook page from the Rasokhana Shri Nabh Kanwal Raja gurdwara in Banga, Sukhi said he was resigning as he and many others were followers of “Raja Sahib” and the government’s action had humiliated the shrine.
“I will try to make the chief minister and others in the AAP understand that what has happened is not correct,” he said.
Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj, the jathedar of the Akal Takht, on Thursday called the government’s move “hasty” and added that it was disrespectful to refer to Guru Granth Sahib as “unauthorised” and “recovered”.
“Meddling in religious affairs to this extent, involving the police, government officials entering gurudwaras, checking gurudwara accounts, is not going to end well,” said Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur of the department of political science at DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh.
“There would be thousands of Guru Granth Sahib saroops adorning religious places, private homes in Punjab. Will the SIT enter all these places and check papers? It will cause a furore, and whatever political benefit that Mann intends to secure will not only be negated but go against him,” she added.
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Political power play
The latest controversy began when the government registered a police case on 7 December 2025 over alleged discrepancies in printing and distribution of 328 saroops of the Guru Granth Sahib. Employees of the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the body that runs and manages Sikh historical gurdwaras and prints the Guru Granth Sahib, were named in the case.
A Special Investigative Team (SIT) was set up to locate the “missing saroops” to ensure they were not in the wrong hands.
The SGPC maintains that no saroops are missing.
“The saroops were printed and handed over to those who had ordered them,” SGPC chief Harjinder Singh Dhami told a press conference last week.
“The discrepancies related to the concerned employees in the printing press pocketing the money from the sale, instead of depositing it into the account of the SGPC. All these employees, along with those who were supposed to ensure transparency in the process, were dismissed from service or resigned. Some part of the misappropriated money was recovered,” he added.
Dhami has accused Mann of meddling in religious affairs to politically target the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is seen as controlling the SGPC. Mann dismissed SGPC’s claims, saying that his government had the right to investigate the case and take it to its logical conclusion.
“There is no doubt that the chief minister taking personal interest in a five-year-old controversy has political intentions. The matter of the so-called missing saroops has been revived because it seems that the Akalis might emerge as contenders for power in the assembly elections next year,” said Dr Kanwalpreet Kaur.
The Akalis, out of power in Punjab for 10 years, are showing signs of revival, encouraged by the result of the Tarn Taran bypoll and the block samiti and zila parishad polls.
Professor Harjeshwar Singh of the department of history at SGGS College in Chandigarh said Mann intends to keep Akali Dal’s Sukhbir Badal on the defensive to ensure that he doesn’t gain credibility among Sikh voters. “The AAP is eying Akali votes and leaders,” he said.
There is a reason for that. Unlike the 2022 Assembly polls, in which the AAP secured both Hindu and Sikh votes, the political situation has changed. The BJP, after breaking its ties with the Akalis, has consolidated its position in several urban areas, though its hold in rural areas remains limited.
Invoking the moral and religious authority of the Akal Takht, jathedar Gargajj summoned Mann to explain his “anti-Sikh” conduct Thursday.
He announced that Mann had “admitted” that he had limited knowledge about the Sikh code of conduct and traditions, and had assured them he would be more careful in the future when speaking about the Sikh religion.
Gargajj said the five Singh sahiban (high priests) will take a final decision on Mann’s explanation at their next meeting.
Mann has acknowledged the supremacy of the Akal Takht, but continues to attack the SGPC. Addressing a gathering in Majitha Sunday, he said the SGPC chief should resign and openly work as an Akali Dal supporter instead of using the Sikh body as an extension of the Akali Dal.
Experts said Mann was becoming increasingly isolated.
“Mann has lost credibility as a serious politician mainly because of the manner in which he speaks. Secondly, he has made so many enemies that he is completely isolated politically. He knows the dangers of meddling in religion, but he is doing so for his own survival,” said Sekhon.
“But he does not realise that the common people are least bothered about this issue,” he added.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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