Chandigarh, Aug 22 (PTI) Senior Congress leaders in Punjab have distanced themselves from MP Deepender Singh Hooda’s statement calling the death of former party MP Sajjan Kumar an “irreparable loss”.
What Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said, that may be his personal view, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring told reporters here.
Controversial former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, who was serving two life sentences in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, died at the age of 80 on Thursday.
Warring said 1984 anti-Sikh riots was a massive tragedy, and its wounds still remain.
“Despite the passage of so much time, the trauma runs deep in people’s minds. As for Deepender Hooda said, that may be his personal view,” Warring said.
However, we have always stood in solidarity with those affected by the 1984 tragedy, standing firm like a rock, he added.
Congress’ sitting MP from Jalandhar Charanjit Singh Channi on Saturday, in a post on X, said, “serving two life sentences for crimes against the Sikh community, Sajjan Kumar died in prison’a dark reminder of an individual who disgraced humanity and justice”.
Channi also posted a video on X.
The former Punjab chief minister alleged, “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 publicly. He died in jail while serving sentence. If anyone calls this person a role model, they should control themselves and think what they are saying,” Channi said.
Channi further said the issue does not concern Sikh community alone and added, “this person shamed entire humanity. How can Sikh community, Punjabis and the country forgive him (Sajjan Kumar).” While condoling Sajjan Kumar’s demise, Deepender Hooda, who is son of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, had on Thursday said, “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.
“His example is given, and the way he stood by people in their joys and sorrows, and the contribution he made to Delhi’s development, is remembered to this day. His passing has caused a great loss,” Deepender Hooda had said.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab senior leader and MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal said that the wounds of the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre are still alive in the hearts of Sikhs, and at such a time, a statement calling a person linked to the massacre of Sikhs “an ideal” is deeply hurtful to the sentiments of the entire Sikh community.
On Saturday, Dhaliwal said that if a senior Congress leader calls Sajjan Kumar “his role model, it raises serious questions about the mindset and politics of the Congress party”.
Dhaliwal asked the Congress high command whether Deepender Hooda’s statement represents the official position of the party.
He demanded that Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge take immediate action over the statement and expel Deepender Hooda from the party.
Dhaliwal claimed several senior Punjab Congress leaders who make tall claims on Punjab and Sikh issues have remained “silent on this matter which exposes their double standards”.
He told Punjab Congress leaders that if their conscience allows them to stand with Sikhs, they should openly demand action against Deepender Hooda.
He said that Congress must make its position clear and tell the people of Punjab whether it stands with the Sikh families who were victims of the 1984 violence or with leaders making such statements.
Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s proposed visit to Punjab and Amritsar in coming days, Dhaliwal said that before coming to the land of Punjab, the Congress leadership must clarify its position on this matter.
He said that with what face will Rahul Gandhi seek votes from the people of Punjab and Sikh voters when a senior leader of his party calls a person linked to the anti-Sikh violence of 1984 his “role model”.
He said that the first action should be taken against Deepender Hooda’s statement, and only after that should the Congress leadership come before the people of Punjab and clarify its position.
On Friday, the SAD, BJP and the AAP had hit out at Congress for its MP Deepender Singh Hooda’s statement calling the death of former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar an “irreparable loss”.
Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon had said even after 42 years of the horrific and painful 1984 Sikh massacre, the wounds of the victim families remain unhealed.
At such a sensitive time, describing a key accused in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots as a “role model” is a condemnable attempt to rub salt into the wounds of the victim families and reopen their painful memories, Dhillon had said in a statement. PTI SUN NB NB
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