'Wrongful' Bhagat Singh portrait in Bhagwant Mann's office sparks row

Just a couple of days after Aam Aadmi Party's Bhagwant Mann took over the Chief Minster's chair in Punjab, controversies have erupted over a photograph of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh, which has been installed at the Chief Minister's office.

Mann has always been an ardent follower of the revolutionary. The comedian-turned-politician, often seen sporting a yellow Basanti turban, has often expressed his desire to create a Punjab that Bhagat Singh had dreamt of. The newly-elected Chief Minister even took his oath in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of Bhagat Singh.

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However, the portrait in his office, in which Bhagat Singh is seen sporting a yellow Basanti has been criticised for the lack of authenticity. Chaman Lal, honorary advisor to Delhi's Bhagat Singh Resource Centre, in a report by The Indian Express, said, "We have clarified many times that Bhagat Singh never wore any Basanti or Kesari turban. It is all imagination".

Professor Lal, who has authored several books on Bhagat Singh added that there are only four original photographs of the freedom fighter and in none of them was he shown in a Basanti, orange or red colour, which has been circulated over social media these days.

While the wrongful portrayal of the freedom fighter, who was hanged in 1931, at the age of 23, has created many rows, Bhagat Singh's family however called the controversy "insignificant" and said that what's important is the implementation of his vision and not the colour of his turban in the picture.

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