Protests erupted outside Rahul Gandhi's residence, with Sikh leaders demanding apologies and condemning supportive remarks about Kumar.

Updated on: Aug 23, 2026, 08:46:08 IST

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Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and party MP Charanjit Singh Channi have distanced themselves from party colleague Deepender Singh Hooda’s remarks describing Sajjan Kumar’s death an “irreparable loss”.

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 August 20.

Condoling his death, Hooda, the Congress MP from Rohtak, had said that Kumar’s death was a “loss to the country’s political landscape” and praised his “connect with people and contribution to Delhi’s development”.

The remarks triggered sharp reactions from his party colleagues Warring and Channi, with Warring saying that Hooda’s comments may be his “personal view”, stressing that for many, the wounds of the riots were still fresh.

“No person whether a Sikh or a non-Sikh can forget the pain and trauma of 1984. Despite the passage of so much time, the trauma runs deep in people’s minds,” he said.

Channi called Kumar a disgrace to humanity. “Far from being a role model, even uttering his name is a sin…He should have been shot publicly.”

The former CM, in a video posted on X on Saturday, called Kumar a “murderer of the Sikhs” and a “traitor”. “If such people become role models, then country will be destroyed,” he added.

“He should have been shot publicly in a chowk. He died in jail while serving sentence,” Channi said.

The remarks triggered protests by Sikh leaders and families affected by the 1984 violence outside Rahul Gandhi’s residence in New Delhi on Saturday. The protesters, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee president Harmeet Singh Kalka and general secretary Jagdeep Singh Kahlon, demanded an apology from Gandhi and Congress leaders.

A DSGMC leader said, “After Sajjan Kumar’s death, the kind of statements given by Congress leaders saying Sajjan Kumar is our hero are objectionable. Rahul Gandhi has to clarify today whether Sajjan Kumar is their hero.” “Forty-two years later, the wounds of our families have been reopened. Our sentiments have been hurt. Rahul Gandhi and Congress leaders must acknowledge and apologise,” he said.

The Delhi High Court sentenced Kumar to life imprisonment in 2018 for the killing of five Sikhs and burning of a gurdwara. He received another life term in 2025 in a separate murder case.

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