BJP national president Nitin Nabin has reprimanded three party MPs from Delhi after they visited the residence of former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar to offer condolences following his death, according to party sources.
The MPs — Kamlajeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia — visited Kumar’s family recently. Their decision triggered criticism, particularly from BJP leader HS Phoolka, a prominent advocate for victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
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Kumar, who died on August 20, was serving two concurrent life sentences for his role in cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He had been convicted in connection with the killings of Sikhs in Delhi. His prayer meeting is scheduled to take place in the national capital on Saturday.
The visit by the three BJP MPs came under sharp scrutiny because of the party’s longstanding position on the 1984 riots and its support for victims seeking justice.
Phoolka strongly condemned the MPs’ decision, describing Kumar as a “mass murderer” and objecting to their visit to his residence to offer condolences.
“Strongly condemn the visit of the three MPs to mass murderer Sajjan Kumar’s residence to offer condolences on his death,” Phoolka said.
He argued that sympathy should instead be extended to survivors and families of those killed during the riots. Phoolka also called for the three MPs to be boycotted.
The BJP, however, sought to distance the party from the visit, stressing that the MPs had gone to Kumar’s residence in their personal capacities.
BJP spokesperson RP Singh said the three MPs had visited Kumar’s home “in their personal capacity and not as party persons”.
The clarification came after Nabin expressed displeasure over the MPs’ decision, according to sources.
The three MPs represent constituencies in Delhi that were carved out of the erstwhile Outer Delhi parliamentary constituency, which Kumar had represented in the Lok Sabha as a Congress leader. Bidhuri represents South Delhi, Sehrawat represents West Delhi, while Chandolia represents North West Delhi.
The controversy has brought renewed attention to the BJP’s position on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and the cases involving Congress leaders accused in connection with the violence.
Kumar had been convicted in the murder of two Sikh men in Delhi’s Raj Nagar area during the riots and sentenced to life imprisonment. He was also serving another concurrent life sentence in a separate 1984 riots case.
The BJP president’s reprimand of the three MPs comes ahead of Kumar’s prayer meeting and highlights the political sensitivity surrounding any public association with the former Congress leader.
While the MPs’ visit was described by the BJP as a personal act, the controversy has prompted questions within political circles about the implications of elected representatives offering condolences to a figure convicted in cases linked to one of the darkest episodes in Delhi’s history.
