BJP summons MPs for visiting Sajjan Kumar's residence

Mortal remains of Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar being carried by family members and supporters during his funeral ceremony

BJP President Nitin Nabin summoned three Delhi MPs – Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Yogender Chandolia -- expressing strong displeasure over their visit to Sajjan Kumar's residence.

Sajjan Kumar, a former Congress MP, was convicted and serving two life sentences for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. BJP leaders, including H S Phoolka and R P Singh, condemned the MPs' condolence visit, emphasising the party's long-standing fight for justice for riot victims.

Hundreds of people, including political leaders and representatives of social and religious outfits, attended a condolence meet for Sajjan Kumar in Delhi. The incident underscores the enduring political sensitivity and public sentiment surrounding the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

 

Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Nabin on Saturday summoned three party MPs from Delhi -- Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia -- and expressed displeasure over their visit to former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar's residence to offer condolences after his demise.

Kumar, who was serving two life sentences in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at Safdarjung Hospital here on August 20.

BJP MPs Sehrawat, Bidhuri and Chandolia recently visited Kumar's residence to pay condolences.

"BJP national president Nitin Nabin summoned these three MPs today and expressed his displeasure over their visit to Sajjan Kumar's residence," a source in the party told PTI.

BJP leader and senior Supreme Court advocate H S Phoolka hailed Nabin for taking a strong stand on the issue and said, 'This is what leadership should look like, as opposed to the hypocrisy of the Congress all these years." "Grateful to Nitin Nabin for taking a strong stance on the issue.'

'BJP has fought for this issue as their own for 40 years,' Phoolka said in a post on X, in an apparent reference to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Phoolka had on Friday condemned the visit of BJP MPs Sehrawat, Bidhuri and Chandolia to Kumar's residence, calling for their boycott.

'Strongly condemn the visit of 3 MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia to mass murderer Sajjan Kumar's residence to offer condolences on his death,' the BJP leader said in a post on X on Friday, sharply reacting to their visit.

'This when BJP has always supported our quest for justice against this culprit and supported us in ensuring that he stays in jail. Sympathy should be reserved for victims and their families-many of whom live the horror of those days even till now,' he added.

Phoolka, a former Aam Aadmi Party member who is best known for representing 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims in their quest for justice, joined the BJP on April 1.

BJP spokesperson R P Singh also condemned the three party MPs for visiting Kumar's residence.

"Because Sajjan Kumar was a murderer, a man who had perpetrated the genocide of Sikhs. He was subsequently convicted by the court... under Modi ji's leadership. No action was being taken against Sajjan Kumar during the Congress regime," Singh told PTI Videos on Saturday.

Condolence Meet for Sajjan Kumar

Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered at Talkatora Stadium in New Delhi on Saturday for a condolence meet held for Kumar, who died at 80 last week.

He was serving a life sentence in cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

Kumar died at a Delhi hospital on August 20 and was cremated at Nigam Bodh Ghat the following day.

The condolence meet was attended by several MPs, MLAs, other political leaders from Delhi and neighbouring states, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav, and representatives of social and religious outfits, according to a statement issued by the organisers.

Kumar's son Jagpravesh Kumar, who addressed the gathering, said he would continue to raise public issues and serve people, inspired by his father.

The Congress leader was sentenced by the Delhi High Court to life imprisonment in December 2018 for the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the 1984 riots.

In February 2025, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Delhi court in another case concerning the killing of two Sikh men.

Kumar resigned from the Congress following his 2018 conviction.

He was brought to Safdarjung Hospital from Tihar jail on August 20 after developing an altered sensorium.

Despite resuscitation and life-support measures, he died at 12.30 pm, according to the hospital.

The hospital said Kumar had a history of high blood pressure and Parkinson's disease and had been admitted several times in the past.

The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear his plea seeking three weeks' parole on medical grounds in connection with his ailing wife on the day of his death, but the matter did not come up for hearing.

Kumar entered politics as a municipal councillor from Nangloi and later became general secretary of the Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Outer Delhi in 1980, 1991 and 2004.

Anti-Sikh riots broke out in 1984 following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31 that year.

Thousands of people were killed across the country, with Delhi among the worst-hit.