Chandigarh, August 21: Punjab Congress leaders have publicly distanced themselves from party MP Deepender Singh Hooda after he triggered a massive political storm by describing the late 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar as a “role model nationwide.”
The internal friction erupted immediately after Hooda praised the three-time parliamentarian, who died at age 84 at Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday while serving life imprisonment. Seeking to contain the fallout in a state deeply scarred by the 1984 violence, top Punjab Congress figures fast-tracked statements affirming that their absolute loyalty lies with the victims rather than the convicted leader.
“I don’t know who said what. We are Punjabis and we will continue to stand with Punjabis,” Punjab Congress working president Raj Kumar Verka stated when pressed on the growing internal rift. Verka added that Kumar’s life remained permanently surrounded by controversy and called the issue particularly painful for the people of Punjab.
Sharing this stance, Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla emphasized from Amritsar that the party stands firmly with the families who lost their lives. Aujla noted that the controversial remarks likely represented Hooda’s personal opinion rather than official party policy.
“Sajjan Kumar committed wrongs and faced punishment for them,” Aujla said. “A leader should not be involved in harming others.”
Meanwhile, Congress MP Manish Tewari chose a more guarded approach to the building controversy. He declined to comment directly on the ongoing row, stating that he had not read the statement and that Hooda could explain his own remarks.
The controversy marks the final chapter in the turbulent legacy of Sajjan Kumar, who was hospitalized for high blood pressure and Parkinson’s disease before passing away on Thursday afternoon. Kumar had been jailed since December 2018, when the Delhi High Court overturned his previous acquittal and handed him a life sentence. His legal troubles escalated further in February 2025 when a Delhi court handed him a second life sentence for the Saraswati Vihar murder case involving the killing of a father and son during the 1984 violence.
