Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann dismissed allegations that he attends legislative assembly sessions in a drunk state during a recent summit.
The denial addresses a persistent narrative used by political rivals to question Mann's fitness for office and his conduct during official government proceedings.
Speaking at the NDTV Nava Punjab Summit in Chandigarh, Mann said the accusations are politically motivated attacks. He noted that opponents have repeated these claims for 14 years [1] without raising any other substantive issues against him.
Mann challenged the logic of the long-term accusations by questioning the physical toll such a habit would take. "If I drank day and night for 14 years, would I be alive?" Mann said.
The chief minister suggested that the focus on his personal habits is a tactic to distract from actual governance and policy discussions. He said that the repetition of the claim over more than a decade [1] highlights a lack of legitimate criticism from his political opposition.
Mann has faced these recurring allegations throughout his political career, often peaking during assembly sessions where his speech or mannerisms are scrutinized by opposing parties. By addressing the claims directly at a public summit, the chief minister sought to frame the narrative as a repetitive political trope rather than a factual concern.
“"If I drank day and night for 14 years, would I be alive?"”
This public denial reflects an attempt by the Punjab administration to neutralize a specific line of attack from the opposition that targets the Chief Minister's personal credibility. By framing the 14-year history of the allegations as a lack of substantive political alternatives, Mann is attempting to shift the public discourse from his personal conduct to the opposition's perceived inability to critique policy.
