Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Wednesday, 29 July launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, calling him a ‘typical chronic AAP liar’ who, he alleged, governs through denial, deceit, and falsehood. The broadside came in direct response to Mann’s public denial that any paper leaks occurred in Punjab during his tenure.

The Paper Leak Controversy

Warring pointed to at least two specific incidents he said contradict the Chief Minister’s claims: the leak of the pharmacists’ recruitment examination paper and the Class XII English paper. “If CM Mann believes that he can use the formula of telling a lie 100 times to make it sound true, he is badly mistaken,” Warring said, warning that denial would not shield the government from accountability.

Warring drew a pointed comparison with the Centre, arguing that just as Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stepped down over paper leaks at the national level, the responsible minister in Punjab must similarly resign. “The AAP cannot avoid removing the minister using lies,” he said.

Congress MPs Stage Protest

The attack coincided with the passage of a stricter anti-paper-leak bill in the Lok Sabha. Several Congress Members of Parliament staged a protest to mark the occasion, with Warring joined by MPs Amar Singh, Gurjeet Aujla, and Dharamvir Gandhi. The timing was deliberate — underlining the contrast between legislative action at the Centre and what Congress describes as evasion by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab.

MGNREGA Workers’ Salaries: A Second Front

Warring also took aim at the AAP government over its handling of MGNREGA workers demanding unpaid wages. He alleged that instead of resolving the dispute, the state government was attempting to deflect responsibility by writing to the Central government seeking regularisation of these workers — a process for which, he argued, the Centre has no existing policy.

“If the AAP government is sincere and serious in regularising the MGNREGA workers, why does it need to write to the Central government, which does not have any regularisation policy, to do it on its own?” Warring asked. He alleged that on both issues — paper leaks and MGNREGA wages — the AAP’s core governing strategy is ‘denial and deceit.’

Broader Political Context

The exchange reflects an intensifying political battle in Punjab ahead of future electoral cycles. The Congress, which lost the state to AAP in 2022, has consistently sought to frame the Mann government’s tenure around governance failures. The paper leak issue, which has roiled several states and triggered national legislative action, provides fertile ground for that narrative. Whether the AAP government responds substantively or continues to contest the allegations will likely shape the next phase of this confrontation.