Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann launched a scathing, satire-laced attack on the SAD(B) and the Congress at a ‘Lok Milni’ programme held in Chandbaja village of Faridkot district on Saturday evening, deploying sharp rural idiom and childhood anecdotes to mock his political rivals, with SAD leaders Sukhbir Singh Badal and Bikram Singh Majithia bearing the brunt of his ridicule.Addressing an impressive gathering of men and women, Mann labelled a Punjab opposition leader as “mentally retarded,” quipping that in rural areas, persons with such conditions are kept chained.Aiming at a Congress leader, he alleged the latter was involved in gold biscuit smuggling.”He smuggles gold biscuits while we eat ordinary atta biscuits,” Mann said, adding that most Akali and Congress leaders were utterly disconnected from the language, needs and problems of the common people. He mocked them for being unable to tell red chilies from green ones and for venturing out of their homes only after checking the temperature.The CM accused both parties of deceiving the public for decades in the name of “water morchas” and religion while alternating power between themselves.Noting the sharp decline of the SAD (Badal), he pointed out that the party had been reduced to a single MLA in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, who also maintained poor attendance.He targeted the Akalis over the anti-sacrilege law, observing that a penalty of Rs 50 lakh had been prescribed for sacrilege offences, and alleged the party was opposing the legislation because several of its own leaders were facing proceedings under it.Far from being independent custodians of the Sikh faith, the Jathedars are functioning as instruments of Akali political will, dispensing and rescinding maafi at the party’s behest, turning a sacred religious prerogative into a bargaining chip.Contrasting his tenure with previous regimes, Mann recalled that residents of his native village had written repeatedly to Akali and Congress governments over three decades seeking a bridge over a drain, but he had it built in 2014 after being elected as a Member of Parliament.Asserting that his administration faced no funds shortage, the CM said Rs 2.36 crore had already been invested in the development of Chandbaja village, with more to follow. He handed a cheque of Rs 50 lakh to the village sarpanch for constructing a pond and ensuring drinking water supply.Mann also promised farmers an uninterrupted daytime power supply, urged citizens to leave their phone numbers with every complaint for swift redressal, and highlighted his government’s Rs 1,000 monthly pension scheme for women.In a lighter moment, when an audience member proposed extending the pension to unmarried individuals above 40 years of age, Mann humorously directed Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan to convene a formal meeting to consider the suggestion.Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Kisan Union (Ekta Sidhupur) strongly condemned the CM for allegedly converting Chandbaja village into a police cantonment ahead of the programme.District President Bohar Singh Rupianwala and other union leaders were detained to prevent them from entering the venue.The union had intended to raise with the CM the issue of compensation for farmers whose property was damaged at the Shambhu-Khanauri border points, and the demand for martyrdom status for Shubhkaran Singh.Accusing the government of suppressing media freedom and public voices, the union alleged that AAP workers had been planted in the audience as ordinary citizens to stage a scripted public dialogue.