Aam Aadmi Party leaders are campaigning for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly Elections in full swing. Among the prominent leaders, Chief Minister of Punjab Bhagwant Mann has also been visiting the election-bound state frequently. On October 1, CM Mann attended one such program and tried his hands on Garba dance and Bhangra.
However, things went awkward for the AAP leader when the singer on the stage sang the popular Punjabi song ‘Apna Punjab Hove, Ghar Di Sharab Hove’ originally sung by legendary Punjab Singer Gurdas Mann. In the song, the singer is getting nostalgic about his time back home in Punjab and remembering how people brew homemade liquor.
Notably, CM Mann has been struggling with an alleged alcohol problem and recently, it was rumoured that he was allegedly deplaned in Germany as he was under the influence of alcohol. Also, Gujarat is a dry state, which means, sale and consumption of alcohol is prohibited in Gujarat.
CM @BhagwantMann tried some hand on garba at Rajkot. Confluence of Gujarati and Punjabi culture, mixture of Garba and Bhangda! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/TGb3ibWjNj
— Dr Safin 🇮🇳 (@HasanSafin) October 1, 2022
In a little over one minute video shared by AAP supporters and leaders themselves, CM Bhagwant Mann could be seen doing the Garba in the beginning. However, at the 0:49 timestamp, the singer started singing “Apna Punjab Hove” and expected CM Mann to dance over the tunes, but the lyrics made him visibly awkward, and he just stood there with a smile on his face. Within 10-seconds, CM Mann decided to leave the stage.
Interestingly, several AAP leaders and supporters shared the video praising CM Mann and completely missed the point of how it was visibly problematic for the Punjab CM. AAP MLA Kuldeep Kumar praised CM Mann for Garba dance.
आज गुजरात में @BhagwantMann पाजी का गरबा डांस❤️ pic.twitter.com/hx72TUV0Kh
— MLA Kuldeep Kumar (@KuldeepKumarAAP) October 1, 2022
AAP leader Rajesh Sharma called it “super” performance and said he “really enjoyed” the performance.
superb @BhagwantMann Saheb
— Rajesh Sharma ।ৰাজেশ শৰ্মা ।રાજેશ શર્મા 🇮🇳 (@beingAAPian) October 1, 2022
ખરેખર આનંદ થયોpic.twitter.com/N0wKPxGqvF
Twitter user Siddharth praised CM Mann for his dancing skills.
.@BhagwantMann killing it🔥
— Siddharth (@ethicalsid) October 1, 2022
Whether it’s Bhangra or Garba he is slaying it 💯 💯 pic.twitter.com/9ZvKypppop
Twitter user Dr Safin also praised him for trying his hands on Garba.
CM @BhagwantMann tried some hand on garba at Rajkot. Confluence of Gujarati and Punjabi culture, mixture of Garba and Bhangda! 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/TGb3ibWjNj
— Dr Safin 🇮🇳 (@HasanSafin) October 1, 2022
A few Twitter users, however, pointed out Gujaratis might have mocked CM Mann with the song. Twitter user Oye Jahazi said, “Gujjus are trolling him or what? Singing “Apna Punjab hove, Ghar di shraab hove” when Bhagwant Mann was dancing on the stage.”
Gujjus are trolling him or what? Singing “Apna Punjab hove, Ghar di shraab hove” when Bhagwant Mann was dancing on the stage 😭 pic.twitter.com/7JY5HhD0S5
— Jahazi (@Oye_Jahazi) October 2, 2022
Notably, during an election event, AAP leaders were also greeted with the chants of “Modi Modi”. It is unclear if both videos are from the same or not.
Breaking:
— Vijay Patel🇮🇳 (@vijaygajera) October 1, 2022
The people of Gujarat have chanted ‘Modi Modi’ slogans in front of Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann. pic.twitter.com/rbbF0yfvCg
List of instances when Bhagwant Mann was caught allegedly drunk
In 2015, former AAP leader Yogendra Yadav alleged that Mann had attended Parliament sessions while being under the influence of alcohol. In a statement, he said, “I discovered it first in July 2014 when AAP had a meeting of all its Lok Sabha candidates. Mann was sitting next to me and was smelling of alcohol. I mentioned it to Arvind Kejriwal, and he nodded. Around this time, I heard rumours that Mann was going to the Lok Sabha sessions drunk.”
In October of the same year, former Granthi of Darbar Sahib, Amritsar, allegedly noticed that Mann was drunk. He was attending the bhog ceremony of the Faridkot firing victims. Mann was asked to leave the stage, and the incident caused the party embarrassment at the national level.
In 2016, AAP leader Harinder Singh Khalsa accused Mann of being drunk in the house. In the same year, Mann live-streamed his trip to Parliament and published the video on Facebook. His actions triggered outrage from other house members as he breached security by shooting a video of the Parliament allegedly under the influence of alcohol. Later in the same year, Mann had allegedly turned up at the funeral of Manmeet Alisher in an inebriated condition.
Former Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Charanjit Singh Channi have accused Mann of being a drunkard.
In 2018, Bhagwant Mann went to address an election rally at Gol Diggi in Bhatinda. When it was Mann’s turn to speak, Mann could not even stand.
In April 2022, The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) alleged that the Punjab chief minister and AAP leader Bhagwant Singh Mann had entered Takht Damdama Sahib in a drunken state on the occasion of Baisakhi, which was celebrated across the country on April 14.
In January 2019, Bhagwant Mann had promised he would not drink anymore. AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal called it a ‘great sacrifice for the people. By that time, Mann, MP from Sangrur, had faced much criticism over his drinking habits. Though the promise made by a leader was supposed to be fulfilled, things allegedly did not turn in his favour.
‘Apna Punjab Hove’ song
The Punjabi song ‘Apna Punjab Hove, Ghar Di Sharab Hove’ was originally sung by legendary singer Gurdas Mann. The song talks about the essence of Punjab’s houses and culture. It talks about home-brewed whisky and how the singer misses both house and the liquor along with homemade food, friends, family and culture while being away.
Amusingly, AAP leader Manish Sisodia has been in the soup recently over allegations of irregularities and procedural lapses in the new liquor policy implemented by the Delhi govt last year. You can read in detail about it here.
