Having faced a lot of flak for his drinking habit, Sangrur MP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann on Sunday announced he was becoming a teetotaller for good while his party supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal termed his decision a “great sacrifice” for the people of Punjab and the country.

Addressing a rally at Barnala where Kejriwal said their party will contest from all 13 seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Mann said, “I have taken a vow in the presence of my mother not to drink alcohol for good.”

At Sangrur recently, an elderly man had gifted Mann a bottle of ghee.

“The Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) coalition and the ruling Congress are in cahoots to malign my image by portraying me as a born drunkard. They have stooped to the level of showing old videos to defame me. It’s the only fault they find in me. Therefore, I have decided to quit drinking,” Mann said.

“When my mother heard my detractors passing nasty comments against me, she advised me to make another sacrifice by kicking the habit. Now, I want them to answer if they do not consume liquor at all,” Mann said.

Endorsing his decision, Kejriwal said, “No one has made sacrifices for Punjab as Bhagwant Mann has.”

First Published: Jan 20, 2019 22:14 IST