Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday rejected allegations that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal is running the Punjab government as a “super CM” or remotely influencing decision-making in the state. He made the remarks during an interaction at the Nava Punjab summit in conversation with NDTV journalist Rahul Kanwal.

Mann said that AAP functions as a national political party and that there is no external interference in the governance of Punjab. He firmly stated that all administrative and policy decisions in the state are taken by the elected Punjab leadership. According to him, the state government operates independently within its constitutional framework.

Responding directly to questions about Kejriwal’s alleged influence after AAP’s loss of power in Delhi, Mann denied any such claims and emphasised that decision-making authority rests solely with the Punjab Chief Minister’s office. He added that hundreds of government decisions are taken in Punjab and all of them are made by the state administration without outside direction.

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Mann further clarified that Arvind Kejriwal does not dictate or control policy decisions in Punjab. He said that while AAP is a unified political organisation, governance in the state is handled entirely by Punjab’s elected representatives and officials. His comments were aimed at countering political criticism suggesting parallel authority within the state government.

The Chief Minister’s remarks come amid ongoing political debate over the internal functioning of AAP and the role of its national leadership in state governments. Opposition parties have frequently alleged that Kejriwal exerts significant influence over Punjab’s administration, a charge consistently denied by AAP leaders. By reiterating that the Punjab government operates independently, Mann sought to reinforce the autonomy of his administration and assert that governance decisions are made within Punjab’s official institutional framework.

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