BJP Reprimands Three Delhi MPs for Condolence Visit to Convicted 1984 Riots Leader
Three BJP MPs were reprimanded by party chief Nitin Nabin after visiting Sajjan Kumar's residence. Senior advocate HS Phoolka called the act a violation of the party's 42-year position on the 1984 riots.
The BJP has taken disciplinary action against three of its Delhi Lok Sabha MPs after they paid a condolence visit to the residence of late Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, who was convicted in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.
Party national president Nitin Nabin summoned the MPs — Ramvir Singh Bidhuri (South Delhi), Kamaljeet Sehrawat (West Delhi), and Yogender Chandolia (North West Delhi) — and reprimanded them for deviating from the party's stated position on the riots, according to sources.
The visit, which took place after Kumar's death on August 20, drew sharp criticism from senior advocate and BJP leader HS Phoolka, who has represented riot victims for over four decades.
Speaking to NDTV, Phoolka said the MPs' action was "against the party line," noting that the BJP has supported victims and demanded justice for the 1984 violence for the last 42 years. He recalled that BJP lawyers, including Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad, had appeared for victims, and that former chief minister Madan Lal Khurana had appointed him as an advisor on the cases.
Phoolka argued that sympathy for Kumar should not overshadow the suffering of victims and their families, and welcomed the party president's prompt intervention. He said the entire party was upset over the incident.
Party sources said the MPs visited Kumar's residence in their personal capacity, but the leadership made clear that such gestures could not override the party's established position.
The controversy follows the BJP's criticism of Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda over his remarks after Kumar's death. Phoolka rejected any parallel between the two cases, saying Hooda belongs to a party that "actually carried out this massacre."
He alleged that senior Congress leaders named in connection with the 1984 violence, including Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, and Kamal Nath, acted on instructions from the Prime Minister's Office under Rajiv Gandhi. Phoolka also accused the Congress of shielding and rewarding the guilty, pointing out that Kumar was made an MP three times and his brother once.
The BJP has not announced any further disciplinary action against the three MPs.