High drama unfolded in the Punjab Assembly on Friday after opposition parties, including the Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), alleged that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appeared intoxicated during the Vidhan Sabha proceedings and sought that he should undergo an alcohol test.
Opposition members created an uproar in the House, with Congress MLAs staging a walkout and urging the Speaker to take immediate action. The party also demanded dope testing of all MLAs and called for an independent medical examination to be conducted by PGIMER.
Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira demanded that an alcohol test be carried out on the Chief Minister to verify the allegations raised during the session. In a post on his social handle X, Khaira wrote “Cm @BhagwantMann was found drunk in the Vidhan Sabha today ! We @INCIndia walked out of the house demanding from the Speaker @SpeakerSandhwan that an alcohol test of Cm @BhagwantMann be conducted and we offered to undertake the test ourselves too."
"The conduct of @AamAadmiParty Cm Bhagwant Mann had lowered the prestige of the august house of Vidhan Sabha. We @INCPunjab Mla's urge @ArvindKejriwal to take action against Cm for impropriety and that too by being drunk in the assembly-Khaira," the post added.
Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa also slammed Mann, alleging that the Chief Minister was in an inebriated condition during proceedings. Bajwa demanded an immediate dope test and questioned the purpose of holding Assembly sessions if such allegations remained unaddressed.
"What should we even do coming to the Assembly where the Chief Minister is in an inebriated state? What is the purpose of holding a session when the head of the state is completely sozzled? We demand that everyone's test be conducted," Bajwa added.
SAD also levelled similar accusations, calling the situation shameful and seeking a dope test of the Chief Minister. The Aam Aadmi Party had not issued any official response to the allegations at the time of filing this report.
In a post on X, the Akali Dal shared “"It is a matter of great shame that @BhagwantMann showed up drunk with alcohol in the hallowed chamber of the Vidhan Sabha on the occasion of 'Labour Day' today You can see for yourselves how the Chief Minister is behaving in the Vidhan Sabha.”
"The Shiromani Akali Dal strongly condemns the Chief Minister's conduct, and he should not have come after drinking on this day. The Shiromani Akali Dal demands that the Chief Minister undergo a dope test today in front of the entire Punjab so that Punjabis too can know the truth," the post read.
Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal also accused Mann of repeatedly attending public and official events under the influence of alcohol. She demanded that an alcohol test be conducted and said action should follow if the allegations were proven correct.
In a post on X, Maliwal alleged, "Today, once again, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann has arrived at the temple of democracy, the Punjab Legislative Assembly, completely intoxicated with alcohol. This man goes to the Gurdwara Sahib after drinking, goes to the temple after drinking, used to come to the Lok Sabha after drinking, goes to government meetings after drinking, and drank so much abroad that he was deplaned."
"Before the elections, he had placed his hand on his mother's head and declared that he would never drink alcohol again. The CM of a sensitive border state like Punjab stays intoxicated all the time... signs files while under the influence. What shamelessness. How can a man who is only ever away from alcohol during sleep possibly run Punjab? CM Mann should undergo an alcohol test, and if found guilty, he should be removed from the CM position," she said.
Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar also joined opposition leaders in demanding a breathalyser test. He said such testing would reveal the actual condition in which leaders attend important Assembly sessions.
"The general session of the Assembly is important, but its significance increases even further when it is a special session. If a breathalyzer test were conducted to find out the condition in which the leaders reach the Assembly on this day, many faces would be unmasked," Jakhar said.
Meanwhile, the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) formally wrote to the Speaker seeking immediate alco-meter and dope testing of Bhagwant Mann as well as all MLAs during the ongoing session.
In its letter, the CLP referred to concerns raised during the Assembly debate and said the allegations had triggered serious questions about the conduct of members. The party warned that ignoring the issue could erode public trust in democratic institutions.
The Congress sought a transparent protocol, including mandatory alco-meter testing of all legislators present in the House within one hour, beginning with the Chief Minister. The letter also sought comprehensive dope testing of both Treasury and Opposition MLAs without exception to ensure fairness and accountability.
The CLP further proposed that an independent medical team from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, be deployed to conduct impartial testing and maintain credibility of the process.
Also read: AAP brings Confidence Motion in Punjab Assembly
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