Chandigarh:
A video posted by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on social media showing senior citizens dancing during an Independence Day tableau has sparked a political controversy in Punjab, with the Opposition questioning the manner in which elderly people were presented as beneficiaries of the state government’s Rs 10 lakh health protection scheme.
The video, shared by the AAP, shows elderly citizens performing bhangra as part of a tableau showcasing the government’s health card scheme. The presentation appears to suggest that senior citizens were celebrating after receiving free treatment, including knee replacement procedures, under the scheme.
ਦੇਸ਼ ਦੇ 80ਵੇਂ ਸੁਤੰਤਰਤਾ ਦਿਵਸ ਮੌਕੇ ₹10 ਲੱਖ ਵਾਲ਼ੇ ਸਿਹਤ ਕਾਰਡ ਦੀ ਝਾਕੀ ਦੌਰਾਨ ਬਜ਼ੁਰਗਾਂ ਦੇ ਭੰਗੜੇ ਨੇ ਜ਼ਾਹਰ ਕੀਤੀ ਮਾਨ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਦਿੱਤੇ ਜਾ ਰਹੇ ਮੁਫ਼ਤ ਇਲਾਜ ਦੀ ਅਸਲ ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ੀ। ਇਹ ਸਿਹਤ ਸੁਰੱਖਿਆ ‘ਚ ਮਾਨ ਸਰਕਾਰ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਦਿੱਤੀ ਜਾ ਰਹੀ ਬਰਾਬਰਤਾ ਦੀ ਝਲਕ ਹੈ। pic.twitter.com/9Rv4zNwDQi
— AAP Punjab (@AAPPunjab) August 15, 2026
The video quickly became a political flashpoint, with Opposition leaders questioning whether some of the elderly people shown dancing had actually undergone knee replacement surgery.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikramjit Singh Majithia launched a sharp attack on the Bhagwant Mann government, describing the episode as a “spectacle of lies in the name of August 15.”
Majithia alleged that people who had never undergone knee replacement surgery were made to dance and presented as patients who had successfully undergone the procedure. He accused the government of using Independence Day celebrations for publicity and political propaganda.
“Just to satisfy its hunger for publicity, Guru Dokhi Bhagwant Mann turned the sacred Independence Day into a stage for false propaganda,” Majithia alleged.
He further claimed that health department employees were presented as beneficiaries and questioned the government’s portrayal of the tableau as evidence of a healthcare revolution.
“What kind of ‘health revolution’ is this?” Majithia asked.
Majithia argued that Punjab’s hospitals need doctors, medicines and proper treatment rather than cameras, advertisements and publicity. He also questioned how far, according to him, the politics of government propaganda could go.
👉 A spectacle of lies in the name of August 15!
👉 People who had never undergone knee replacement surgery were made to dance and presented as patients who had successfully undergone the procedure! 🤦♂️
👉 Just to satisfy its hunger for publicity, Guru Dokhi Bhagwant Mann turned… pic.twitter.com/dW1hpXIngx
— Bikram Singh Majithia (@bsmajithia) August 16, 2026
The controversy was further fuelled by Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who also reacted to the video. Khaira accused the government of using senior citizens for political gains and urged Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann not to turn them into part of a political publicity exercise.
“We @INCIndia urge @BhagwantMann not to humiliate our senior citizens and the pride of Punjab by making them do ‘Bhangra’ for your cheap political gains!” Khaira said in his video reaction.
We @INCIndia urge @BhagwantMann not to humiliate our senior citizens and the pride of Punjab by making them do “#Bhangra for your cheap political gains ! @INCPunjab @IYC @AamAadmiParty pic.twitter.com/ksty83RtSh
— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) August 16, 2026
Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring too reacted saying, “Our elders are our pride, not props for political publicity. Elderly people were made to dance before the cameras and then projected as beneficiaries of the government’s so-called health revolution. If these allegations are true, this is not just misleading propaganda – it is an insult to the dignity of our elders and an attempt to mislead the people of Punjab.”
Our elders are our pride, not props for political publicity.
Bhagwant Mann’s government has allegedly turned Independence Day into a publicity stunt, with Health Department employees reportedly presented as elderly beneficiaries of successful knee replacement surgeries despite… pic.twitter.com/yFYlR8zVWM
— Amarinder Singh Raja Warring (@RajaBrar_INC) August 17, 2026
The AAP declined to comment when asked about the matter.
