BJP prez pulls up lawmakers for condoling Sajjan Kumar’s death

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Saturday pulled up three lawmakers from Delhi who went to meet the family of former Congress leader and anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar after his death, people aware of the developments said

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Saturday pulled up three lawmakers from Delhi who went to meet the family of former Congress leader and anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar after his death, people aware of the developments said.

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According to the people, Nabin summoned Kamlajeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri, and Yogender Chandolia to register his consternation over the Lok Sabha 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 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.

A senior party leader aware of the matter said: “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.”

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 propriety is followed between political rivals, in this case, Kumar was a convict whom the party fought tooth and nail against. “In such a case, there cannot be a distinction between the party and the personal…” the leader added.

On Friday, 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: 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.