Chandigarh:
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann left for Bengaluru on Thursday morning to attend a four day meditation programme at a private wellness centre, even as his government continues to face political and religious heat over the recent controversy involving the Akal Takht.
According to sources, the Chief Minister boarded an early morning flight by 7:30 AM and is expected to return to Punjab on Monday, although his stay may be extended depending on the schedule of the meditation programme.
The visit comes a day after Mann launched the Mukh Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana in his home constituency of Dhuri, where the Punjab government credited the first instalment of financial assistance to nearly 36 lakh women beneficiaries under its flagship welfare scheme.
Mann’s departure assumes significance as he remains at the centre of a political storm following the Akal Takht’s censure over his video message responding to the Sikh temporal body’s directions on amendments to Punjab’s anti sacrilege law. The Akal Takht declared him “Guru Dokhi” and “Khalsa Panth Virodhi”, triggering sharp criticism from opposition parties and Sikh organisations.
Government sources, however, maintained that the Bengaluru visit had been planned in advance and was unrelated to the ongoing political controversy.
This is not the first time Mann has travelled to Bengaluru for a similar programme. In October 2022, a few months after taking office as Chief Minister, he had visited a private wellness facility in the city for a Vipassana meditation and wellness programme amid intense speculation over his health and drinking habits. At the time, the Aam Aadmi Party had described it as a routine health and meditation visit, and Mann later publicly said that he had given up alcohol.
Even as the Punjab government insists that the latest trip is purely for meditation and personal well being, its timing, coming days after the Akal Takht controversy, is likely to keep the Chief Minister under political scrutiny.