{"id":15296,"date":"2026-08-22T10:35:49","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=15296"},"modified":"2026-08-22T10:35:49","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:35:49","slug":"sajjan-kumar-role-model-post-sikh-leaders-protest-outside-rahuls-delhi-home-demand-congress-apology-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=15296","title":{"rendered":"Sajjan Kumar &#8216;role model&#8217; post: Sikh leaders protest outside Rahul&#8217;s Delhi home, demand Congress apology | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-133421888,imgsize-109010,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-outside-rahul-gandhis-residence.jpg\" alt=\"Sajjan Kumar 'role model' post: Sikh leaders protest outside Rahul's Delhi home, demand Congress apology\" title=\"Protests outside Rahul Gandhi's residence against Cong leaders calling Sajjan Kumar 'hero' . Photo credit: IANS\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Protests outside Rahul Gandhi's residence against Cong leaders calling Sajjan Kumar 'hero' . Photo credit: IANS\">Protests outside Rahul Gandhi&#8217;s residence against Cong leaders calling Sajjan Kumar &#8216;hero&#8217; . Photo credit: IANS<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: Sikh leaders and families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots staged a protest outside Congress leader <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/rahul-gandhi\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rahul Gandhi<\/a>&#8216;s residence in New Delhi on Saturday, demanding an apology over remarks by some Congress leaders describing former party leader Sajjan Kumar as a &#8220;hero&#8221; and &#8220;role model&#8221;.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The protest, led by Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (DSGMC) president Harmeet Singh Kalka and general secretary Jagdeep Singh Kahlon, took place amid heavy police barricading outside Gandhi&#8217;s residence at 5, Sunehri Bagh Road.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>A DSGMC leader questioned whether the Congress endorsed the remarks made about Kumar, who was convicted in a case linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"8\"\/>&#8220;After Sajjan Kumar&#8217;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,&#8221; the leader said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>Referring to Congress MP Deepender Singh Hooda&#8217;s remarks, the DSGMC leader sought an apology from Gandhi and the party.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>&#8220;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,&#8221; he said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>The DSGMC had earlier said the protest followed what it described as the Congress &#8220;once again allegedly referred to Sajjan Kumar, accused in the killings of thousands of Sikhs, as a role model&#8221;.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>The controversy intensified after Hooda, speaking to ANI following Kumar&#8217;s death on Thursday, said, &#8220;Today, the country&#8217;s political landscape has suffered an irreparable loss&#8230; He is cited as a role model nationwide.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>Punjab Congress leaders subsequently distanced themselves from Hooda&#8217;s remarks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>Congress MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla said Kumar had been punished for his actions and that the party stood with the victims.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"27\"\/>&#8220;Sajjan Kumar did misdeeds. He has been punished for his actions. A leader does not lead in harming others. We stand with those who died due to him,&#8221; Aujla said.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/>On Hooda&#8217;s statement, Aujla said, &#8220;It must be the personal opinion of Hooda ji but our view is that whatever happened and whoever it happened with, we stand with them, the victims.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Punjab Congress working president Raj Kumar Verka also said the party&#8217;s priority was to support those affected by the violence.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/>&#8220;Sajjan Kumar&#8217;s life had been full of controversies. This is a matter related to Punjab and Punjabis have been hurt. If Sajjan Kumar is being held responsible for it, we first stand in support of those innocent people; Sajjan Kumar comes only later,&#8221; Verka told ANI.<\/p>\n<div data-type=\"in_view\" class=\"  \">\n<div class=\"LEzX4\">\n<div class=\"PmOGb\">\n<p class=\"PSf84\">Share your thoughts in the comments<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Insightful<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Agree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Disagree<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Skeptical<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Concerning<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Promising<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Worth Reading<\/button><button type=\"button\" class=\"sUTYm \">Big Development<\/button><\/p>\n<p><textarea class=\"T9MbS\" rows=\"1\" placeholder=\"Add your Thoughts...\"\/><button type=\"button\" class=\"ZW6JD \" disabled=\"\">Post Comment<\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"swnca\">Be respectful \u00b7 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.indiatimes.com\/termsandcondition\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"gkv0P\">TOI community guidelines<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Congress MP Manish Tewari declined to comment directly on Hooda&#8217;s remarks, saying, &#8220;I haven&#8217;t read the statement, so it won&#8217;t be correct to comment on it&#8230; <!-- -->If he is saying something, he is capable to speak on it.&#8221;<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/>Meanwhile, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), BJP and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Punjab on Friday criticised the Congress over Hooda&#8217;s remarks.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"43\"\/>Kumar, an 80-year-old former Congress MP, died on Thursday while serving a life sentence in a 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. He was convicted by the Delhi high court in 2018 in the Raj Nagar case involving the killing of five members of a family and the burning of a gurdwara.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"45\"\/>In February 2025, a Delhi court sentenced him to a second life term in the Saraswati Vihar murder case involving the deaths of Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/india\/sajjan-kumar-role-model-post-sikh-leaders-protest-outside-rahuls-delhi-home-demand-congress-apology\/articleshow\/133421504.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Protests outside Rahul Gandhi&#8217;s residence against Cong leaders calling Sajjan Kumar &#8216;hero&#8217; . Photo credit: IANS NEW DELHI: Sikh leaders and families affected by the 1984 anti-Sikh riots staged a protest outside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi&#8216;s residence in New Delhi on Saturday, demanding an apology over remarks by some Congress leaders describing former party leader [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15297,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15296","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o-150x150.avif","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o-300x169.avif","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/several-sikh-leaders-and-members-of-families-affected-by-the-1984-anti-sikh-riots-staged-a-protest-o.avif"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Protests outside Rahul Gandhi&#8217;s residence against Cong leaders calling Sajjan Kumar &#8216;hero&#8217; . 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