A day after Akal Takht Jathedar Kuldip Singh Gargaj pronounced Punjab Chief Minister as “Guru Dokhi” and “Panth Virodhi”, a defiant Bhagwant Singh Mann said the person in the controversial video was not him.This even as the Opposition clamour against the Chief Minister grew louder, with leaders from all parties seeking his resignation and state BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon asking all Nanak Naam Leva Sikhs in the government to abide by the Akal Takht directions and not maintain any contact with him.Akali Dal spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler asked Mann to bow before the Akal Takht, while Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring “advised” him not to defy the authority of the Akal Takht, and instead seek pardon.Mann, in a video statement, said he had the utmost respect and reverence for the Akal Takht. “Present-day officials at the supreme temporal seat are political appointees, serving their political masters by making baseless allegations against me. A false narrative is being created against me because the political bosses of the Akal Takht management want to defame me,” he said.While AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal said Mann’s political opponents were rattled by his good deeds, party leaders have started assessing the impact of this issue on its electoral politics.Yesterday, the Akal Takht Jathedar had not only pronounced Mann as “Guru Dokhi”, but had also said the controversial video was examined by two forensic labs of repute and was found to be genuine. Based on these findings, he had asked the Sikh sangat to refrain from associating with Mann.“The Akal Takht issued a Hukumnama against me even though I had said earlier when I was summoned to the Akal Takht Secretariat that the person in the video was not me. The height or body build of the person in the video does not match mine. I am surprised how people sitting on the high temporal seat of the Sikhs can work on the directions of their political bosses… with the sole objective of defaming me. They are getting nervous about the work I am doing to save Punjab’s farming, its waters and its youth. They are now using the Sikh religion for political gains,” he said, adding that he considered the Akal Takht as supreme, bowed before its authority and could not dream of getting into any confrontation with it.In a veiled attack, Mann said, “I leave the issue to Guru Nanak’s sangat for its decision. They know how political appointments are made at the Akal Takht. I reject the video being used to issue a Hukumnama against me. I love Punjab and work for its development and Punjabis’ welfare. They (without naming anyone, but seemingly referring to Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal) know that the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Amendment Act is going against them; so they are using such tactics,” he said.“Interestingly, first the managers at the Akal Takht wanted the government to make an anti-sacrilege law. Now, when it has been enacted, they are rejecting it, saying they were not consulted. Their decisions change everyday, but the sangat is wiser. They have seen how first religious pardon is granted and then suddenly revoked to suit the politics of those controlling the Takht,” said the CM, questioning why no directive was issued against those who admitted before the Takht their role in sacrilege incidents and later retracted from their admission.