BJP president Nitin Nabin pulls up 3 Delhi MPs for condoling Sajjan Kumar’s death

Sajjan Kumar died on August 20 in prison; he was serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders of Sikhs during the 1984 riots.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Saturday pulled up three lawmakers from Delhi who went to condole the passing of former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case, said people aware of the matter.

Nabin summoned Kamlajeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia to register this consternation over the MPs not sticking to the party line. 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.

Kumar died on August 20 in prison; he was serving two concurrent life sentences for the murders of Sikhs during the violence.

“The transgression by the MPs left the party embarrassed…as it is the BJP which has been pushing for justice and punishment for those responsible. Justice for the Sikh victims has been on the agenda of the BJP and after coming to power (at the Centre in 2014), the union government formed a dedicated SIT (in 2015) to reinvestigate the cases that had been pushed under the carpet by the Congress government,” a senior party leader said.

Also Read:Sajjan Kumar, convicted for role in 1984 riots , dies

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.

The leader quoted above said, while proprietary is followed between political rivals, in this case, Kumar was an accused who the party fought tooth and nail against. “In such a case there cannot be a distinction between the party and the personal…” the leader said.

On Sunday, the party took action against three leaders in Punjab for making public remarks that questioned the party’s leadership and breached the party line during a press conference in Sangrur. They include, Randeep Singh Deol and Maninder Singh Kapial, both former presidents of BJP Sangrur and Jatinder Kalra, a former cell coordinator of the Punjab unit.

According to the notices, the three leaders participated in a press conference where they allegedly made statements about the BJP’s internal affairs and organisational matters that went against the established party line and discipline and adversely affected the party’s reputation, credibility and organisational image.

The party organisation has asked the three leaders to submit their written explanations within seven days of receiving the notices, explaining why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them.