NEW DELHI: Congress MP and former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi hit out at his party colleagues over their remarks describing former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as a “role model”.
Channi said those praising Kumar should “mind their tongue”. n a video posted on X on Saturday, Channi said, “Sajjan Kumar is a killer of the Sikh community, a traitor; he conspired to have Sikhs killed…. Far from being a role model, even uttering his name is a sin. If such people become role models, then country will be destroyed.” “He should have been shot in a public place; instead, he died in prison. If someone is calling him a role model, then they should mind their tongue and themselves,” Channi said.
Notably, his remarks came over comments made by some Congress leaders including Deependra Hooda following Sajjan Kumar’s death.
Hooda described Sajjan Kumar’s death as an “irreparable loss” and praised his connection with people and contribution to Delhi. “Today, such a loss has occurred on the country’s political horizon, which cannot be made up for. Sajjan Kumar was not just a personality of Delhi, rural Delhi, and the whole of North India, but the connection he had with people was an example,” Hooda had said.
After this, Sikh leaders and families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots staged a protest outside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi, demanding an apology over remarks by some Congress leaders describing former party leader Sajjan Kumar as a “hero” and “role model”.
The protest, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka and general secretary Jagdeep Singh Kahlon, took place amid heavy police barricading outside Gandhi’s residence at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road.
A DSGMC leader questioned whether the Congress endorsed the remarks made about Kumar, who was convicted in a case linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla subsequently distanced himself from Hooda’s remarks. He said Sajjan Kumar had been punished for his actions and that the party stood with the victims. “Sajjan Kumar did misdeeds. He has been punished for his actions. A leader does not lead in harming others. We stand with those who died due to him,” Aujla said.
On Hooda’s statement, Aujla said, “It must be the personal opinion of Hooda ji but our view is that whatever happened and whoever it happened with, we stand with them, the victims.”
Reacting to this, senior BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu said, “Mourning and observing silence for a convicted perpetrator of the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre exposes the deeply disturbing mindset that continues to exist within the Congress. Paying tribute to Sajjan Kumar is not merely shameful—it is a grave insult to the thousands of innocent Sikhs who were brutally killed and to the families who have carried that pain for decades. The BJP strongly condemns this disgraceful glorification of a dark chapter in India’s history. Congress must stop insulting the victims and offer an unconditional apology to the nation.”
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon condemned the remarks and said describing Sajjan Kumar as a “role model” reflected the Congress’ anti-Sikh mindset.
He said the wounds of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots remained unhealed and such remarks had reopened painful memories for the victims’ families.
Dhillon demanded that the Congress apologise unconditionally to the families of the 1984 victims and the Sikh community.
Notably, Sajjan Kumar led violent mobs in Delhi during the 1984 riots, inciting crowds to murder Sikhs and destroy their property, which later resulted in his conviction and life imprisonment.
During the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, Sajjan Kumar acted as a key orchestrator of violence in Outer Delhi. He weaponised his political influence to instigate, lead, and organize furious mobs following Indira Gandhi’s assassination. Witnesses testified that he actively gave inflammatory speeches, distributed weapons, and commanded crowds to target and murder Sikh residents while burning their properties.
Sajjan Kumar, an 80-year-old former Congress MP, died on August 20 while serving a life sentence in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. He was convicted by the Delhi high court in 2018 in the Raj Nagar case involving the killing of five members of a family and the burning of a gurdwara.
