AAP leaders have denied Bhagwant Mann had any infection
After Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann checked into a Delhi hospital on Tuesday, a video of him drinking water from a river triggered speculation of a stomach infection. In the video, tweeted by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab, the Chief Minister could be seen scooping up a glass of water from a river and gulping it down amid cheers from supporters.
However, AAP leaders have denied Mr Mann had any infection. They say he went to the hospital for a routine checkup and was discharged last evening.
The video is from last Sunday. Renowned environmentalist and Rajya Sabha MP Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal had invited the Chief Minister to participate in the 22nd anniversary of the cleaning of the river Kali Bein and had offered him a glass of the river water in Sultanpur Lodhi, Punjab.
The Punjab Chief Minister drank the water, which is usually polluted with sewage waste from neighbouring towns and villages, without hesitation.
Days later, he was admitted to Delhi's Apollo Hospital.
In the video tweeted by AAP's Punjab unit, the text read, "CM @BhagwantMann while drinking holy water at Sultanpur Lodhi, the land touched by Guru Nanak Sahib's feet. Rajya Sabha member Sant Sicheval ji has taken up the task of cleaning the holy place."
Punjab announced the launch of a statewide campaign to clean rivers and drains. "Bhagwant Mann also drank water from the Bein and said that he was blessed to have got this opportunity," it added.
Praising the efforts made by Sant Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal for cleaning Kali Bein, the Chief Minister said that the historic initiative taken around 22 years ago had acted as a catalyst in cleaning the holy rivulet, where Guru Nanak Dev used to bathe. He said that such efforts need to be replicated at a mass level to carry forward the legacy of great gurus, a media release said.