BJP president Nitin Nabin on Saturday reprimanded three Delhi MPs after they visited the family of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, to offer condolences following his death. As per the party sources, Nitin Nabin summoned Kamlajeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia and expressed his displeasure over their visit.
Sajjan Kumar died on August 20
It should be noted that Sajjan Kumar died on August 20 while serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders of Sikhs during the violence that followed the assassination of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1984. His prayer meeting was held in New Delhi on Saturday.
These three BJP MPs’ visit attracted criticism from BJP leader such as HS Phoolka, who joined the party in April this year. Phoolka, a prominent advocate for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, objected to the three MPs paying a condolence visit to Kumar’s residence.
BJP strongly condemns visit of three MPs
He strongly condemned the visit of the three MPs to mass murderer Sajjan Kumar’s residence to offer condolences on his death. It is significant to note that these three MPs represent constituencies that were carved out of the erstwhile Outer Delhi parliamentary seat, which Kumar had represented in the Lok Sabha as a Congress leader.
While Bidhuri is the MP from South Delhi, Sehrawat represents West Delhi, while Chandolia represents North West Delhi. The reprimand from the BJP leadership comes ahead of Kumar’s prayer meeting in the national capital, as attention has again turned to the party’s position on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and cases involving Congress leaders accused in connection with the violence.
Sajjan Kumar, who was serving two life sentences in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at the age of 80. Kumar is survived by his wife, two daughters and one son, according to his profile on the Lok Sabha website.
Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Kumar's plea
Incidentally, the Supreme Court was scheduled to hear Kumar's plea seeking three-week parole on medical grounds concerning his ailing wife on Thursday. According to the cause list, Kumar's plea was scheduled to be heard in the regular list but it did not come up for hearing.
Kumar entered politics as a municipal councillor from Nangloi in Delhi and later rose to become the general secretary of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee in 1977. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1980, 1991 and 2004. Sajjan Kumar was sentenced to life imprisonment by the Delhi High Court on December 17, 2018, in a case related to the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara during the anti-Sikh riots. He resigned from the party after this conviction.
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