New Delhi / Sangrur — The war of words over Punjab's 2027 election turned personal on Wednesday and Thursday, after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged at the party's Insaaf Rally in Sangrur that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann used to smell of alcohol at 11 in the morning during their time together in the Lok Sabha — and the Aam Aadmi Party hit back, calling the remark a "below-the-belt" attack and accusing the Congress and the BJP of jointly targeting Punjab.

Gandhi made the allegation on Wednesday while addressing the Insaaf Rally at Phaguwala village in Sangrur district, the rally at which the Congress formally launched its 2027 Punjab campaign. Recalling his years in Parliament alongside Mann, Gandhi said, according to PTI: "In Lok Sabha, he (Mann) used to crack jokes sitting with us. At 11 am, he smelled of alcohol. I am not saying Bhagwant Mann should not consume alcohol; it is his personal matter. But if you want to fight drugs, the chief minister can't get intoxicated every evening."

The allegation is Gandhi's claim, made in a campaign speech. No independent evidence for it has been produced, and Awaaz Punjab is reporting it as an allegation by a named political opponent, not as an established fact. Gandhi used the remark to question the Mann government's record on its founding promise of eradicating drugs from Punjab, and also alleged that the state is being governed from Delhi.

AAP's Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj led the party's response. "Allegations of drug use have also been made against Rahul Gandhi. But making accusations doesn't achieve anything. I feel that at Rahul Gandhi's level, he really shouldn't be making such cheap comments," Bharadwaj said, according to ANI and PTI reports. The counter-reference to drug allegations against Gandhi is likewise an unverified claim, and is reported here only as part of the exchange.

Bharadwaj called the remark a "below-the-belt attack" that showed "how low his politics has stooped," and argued that the Congress and the BJP had made Punjab their "joint target" while ignoring other poll-bound states. "From morning till night, both parties are only focused on Punjab," he said, pointing to central agency attention on Punjab leaders. Responding to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge's allegation at the same rally that the Mann government was the most corrupt in Punjab in 60 years, Bharadwaj accused the Congress of targeting opposition parties rather than the BJP — Kharge's corruption claim, too, is an allegation by a political opponent and has not been independently established.

Awaaz Punjab's earlier report on the Sangrur rally covered Gandhi's debate challenge to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his attack on the AAP government over drugs and law and order, and AAP minister Harpal Cheema's same-day dismissal of the visit. The personal allegation against Mann and Bharadwaj's rebuttal are a separate, later development in the same campaign fight. Read the Sangrur rally report