New Delhi, June 16 -- A political row intensified in Punjab on Tuesday after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann rejected the authenticity of a viral video allegedly featuring him, terming it "false propaganda," while opposition leaders stepped up criticism following a recent edict issued by the Akal Takht over the matter.

The Akal Takht on Monday evening pronounced a decree in which the Sikh clergy, led by Akal Takht acting jathedar, Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj, directed the Sikh Panth (community) to shun ties with the Punjab Chief Minister over the controversy surrounding the viral video.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann "categorically and completely" rejected the authenticity of the viral video and alleged that it ...