New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): Bharatiya Janata Party national president Nitin Nabin summoned and reprimanded three Delhi Lok Sabha Members of Parliament on Saturday after they visited the residence of former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to pay condolences following his death. Kumar, who was convicted and serving concurrent life sentences for his involvement in the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, died while incarcerated in Tihar Jail.
Party sources confirmed that Nabin took serious exception to the visit by MPs Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi), Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi), and Yogender Chandolia (North West Delhi), directing all three lawmakers to formally explain their conduct. The three parliamentary constituencies were historically carved out of the erstwhile Outer Delhi seat that Kumar previously represented.
The party leadership’s intervention followed public outrage led by senior Punjab BJP leader and human rights advocate H.S. Phoolka, who spent decades legally representing the families of anti-Sikh riot victims. Phoolka severely condemned the MPs’ visit to Kumar’s residence in Peeragarhi, stating that sympathy must be reserved exclusively for victimized families who continue to endure the trauma of the 1984 carnage. Calling for a boycott of the three parliamentarians, Phoolka maintained that the gesture directly undermined the party’s long-standing support for riot survivors and its fight to secure justice against perpetrators.
While BJP national spokesperson R.P. Singh stated that the MPs had visited the residence purely in an individual and personal capacity rather than representing the organisation, the episode has generated significant political friction, particularly in Punjab, where the BJP has maintained a firm stance on the 1984 riot convictions.
