4 min readLudhianaJun 26, 2026 01:18 AM IST
A poster war has been surfacing across Punjab with multiple ‘Boycott Bhagwant Mann’ flex boards at several places and a separate banner in Ludhiana targeting SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal over past sacrilege-related controversies during the SAD-BJP tenure.
This comes in parallel to a campaign mobilising crowds to socially and religiously isolate Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. This movement gathered pace after the Akal Takht edict, on June 15, declared the CM “Guru Dokhi” and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi”.
The first such flex boards against the CM were seen outside an SGPC-run gurdwara in Chauke, Bathinda, on June 23.
On June 24, similar flex boards surfaced near Takht Damdama Sahib, one of Sikhism’s five Takhts, in Talwandi Sabo, Bathinda. Similar boards have also appeared in the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar, while information available indicates that SGPC-run gurdwaras are installing such flex boards at different locations across the state.
The display is gradually spreading from Bathinda to Muktsar, Ludhiana, Amritsar and other places of Punjab.
The latest anti-Mann board was seen on Wednesday in Ludhiana’s busy Model Town Extension chowk, while a separate banner nearby invoked the Akal Takht’s December 2, 2024, “Panthak faisla” and carried a message attacking Sukhbir Singh Badal.
The location is significant as the Model Town chowk lies in the heart of Ludhiana, with Model Town Extension Gurdwara and Baba Deep Singh Gurdwara located diagonally opposite each other.
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At the chowk, several flex boards read: “Akal Takht Sahib order… Bhagwant Mann is Guru Dokhi and Khalsa Panth Virodhi. Sangat shouldn’t deal with him.” Mann’s photo on the flex was also crossed out.
On the other hand, the lone banner carrying the heading “Akal Takht Sahib da panthak faisla” referred to the December 2, 2024, directives issued by then Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Raghbir Singh against Badal for the mistakes made during the SAD-BJP tenure.
The banner also carried photographs of the former Jathedar Raghbir and the then Takht Damdama Sahib Jathedar, Giani Harpreet Singh, with images of Badal, Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and other leaders who were awarded religious punishment by the Akal Takht in December, 2024.
The poster campaign comes days after SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, on June 23, held meetings with religious groups and asked them to spread awareness about the Akal Takht edict against Mann.
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On June 15, acting Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargajj had declared Mann “Guru Dokhi” and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi” regarding the sacrilege video controversy involving the CM. Since then, the issue has snowballed into a larger political and religious confrontation.
The AAP, meanwhile, has reacted strongly to the campaign and has described the allegations against Mann as part of a politically motivated drive by the SAD to defame the CM. The ruling party has maintained that Mann is being deliberately targeted by all opposition parties by forming a Sanjha Morcha. However, the Opposition is collectively demanding resignation of the CM.
Senior SAD leader Daljeet Singh Cheema said, “The poster against Sukhbir Singh Badal or SAD is again a challenge to Akal Takht Sahib. The religious punishment announced by Akal Takht Sahib was completed by all the SAD leaders and afterwards had got clearance from the Akal Takht Sahib. So once a person has submitted before the Akal Takht Sahib and completed the punishment… what is the point of discussing that part again with political motives? People are watching each and every thing, but it seems that the AAP believes only in confrontation.”