BJP summons, reprimands MPs over Sajjan Kumar house visit

Three BJP MPs have landed themselves in trouble with the party top leadership after their visit to late Congress leader Sajjan Kumar's house to pay condolences. Kumar was convicted in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. This didn’t go down well with the party top brass as it had questioned Congress leaders visiting Kumar's house. 

After a backlash, BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Saturday summoned three of its MPs — Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, Yogender Chandolia and Kamaljeet Sehrawat - from Delhi and reprimanded them.

The visit sparked criticism, particularly from BJP leader HS Phoolka, who joined the party in April this year. The BJP has been at the forefront of seeking justice for the victims of the 1984 Sikh pogrom that took place in the aftermath of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The issue also has the potential to flare into a controversy in Punjab, where the BJP is set to contest the upcoming Assembly polls on its own.

“Strongly condemn the visit of the three MPs to mass murderer Sajjan Kumar’s residence to offer condolences on his death,” HS Phoolka posted on X.

A prominent advocate for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Phoolka has called for a boycott of the MPs, arguing that the move raises serious questions about how political leaders should engage with figures associated with one of the darkest chapters in India’s recent history.

“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 (AAP) member who is best known for representing 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims in their quest for justice, joined the BJP on April 1.

Recently, Congress leader Deepender Hooda, who has come under fire from the leaders of his own party across Punjab and Haryana for describing anti-Sikh riot convict Sajjan Kumar as a “role model” after the latter’s death, has made a U-turn after criticism from his own party members and the BJP. The visits of the three MPs, however, have provided the party’s political opponents an opportunity to target it.

Delhi AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj also took a swipe at the BJP, saying the hearts of the three MPs beat for the riot convict. “The hearts of BJP MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Yogendra Chandolia, and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri still beat for convicted 1984 Sikh riots killer Sajjan Kumar,” he wrote on X.   “Will @NitinNabin suspend these MPs of BJP who have backstabbed Sikhs?” he added, tagging the BJP national president. Bhardwaj also questioned the “silence” of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leaders on the issue.

Kumar, who died on August 20, was serving two concurrent life sentences for his role in the killings of Sikhs during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.

The three MPs represent constituencies in Delhi that were carved out of the erstwhile Outer Delhi parliamentary constituency, which Kumar represented in the Lok Sabha as a Congress leader. Bidhuri represents South Delhi, Sehrawat represents West Delhi and Chandolia represents North West Delhi.