Year left to Punjab polls, but Mann announces AAP’s Majitha candidate; pits former aide Gill against SAD’s Majithia family

Majitha: Four days after sounding AAP's poll bugle for the 2027 Punjab assembly elections at the Maghi Mela in Muktsar, chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday addressed a gathering in Majitha assembly seat — the stronghold of SAD's Majithia family — and named former minister Bikram Singh Majithia's friend-turned-foe Talbir Singh Gill as his party's candidate from the constituency.Gill's naming is likely the first announcement of a candidate by any political party for the Punjab assembly elections, scheduled to be held in Feb–Mar next year. Announcing Gill's premature candidature, Mann called Majithia "a self-proclaimed ‘jarnail' (general) of the region" and claimed that the latter used false cases as a weapon against ordinary people. "With deep connections in both Congress and Akali govts, he unleashed a reign of terror, and people were afraid to speak," said Mann, adding that this fear had now "vanished".Speaking at a public gathering after laying the foundation stone of 23 new rural link roads in Majitha, Mann alleged that the "misdeeds" of the Akali Dal and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) compelled the state govt to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the disappearance of 328 saroops of Guru Granth Sahib in 2020. He said the govt's sole objective was to trace the missing saroops, and asserted there was no intention to interfere in the functioning of religious institutions. Mann warned that SAD's return to power would push Punjab back into a "dark phase". "It will mean the return of ‘beadbi' (sacrilege) of Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji, firing on innocent protesters, and atrocities against the common man," he said.BOXES‘Dhami calls self soldier of Sukhbir'Firing a salvo at SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami, Mann said it was unfortunate that instead of focusing on his primary responsibilities, the SGPC president was busy making arrangements for political rallies. "Instead of calling himself a soldier of Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji, he proudly calls himself a soldier of Sukhbir Singh Badal. What good can be expected from such a person, who takes pride in serving someone who ruined Punjab with his every move," Mann said.Mann guns for RaGa tooTaking a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CM Mann said, "Some leaders treat staying one night in a poor person's house as a novelty. I am myself a common man and I understand the daily struggles of ordinary people." ‘Akalis undermined Akal Takht'Stating that Akal Takht was above all, CM Bhagwant Mann said, "That is why I did not attend the function of the President of India and chose instead to appear before the Takht." He said that unlike his govt, the Akalis repeatedly undermined the authority of Akal Takht, the highest seat of temporal authority in Sikhism. "Jathedars were appointed and removed at their whim, dealing a severe blow to the sanctity of these institutions," he said, remarking that Congress leaders had lost their political balance after facing continuous defeats.