📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Edwige9
Politics
Haryana Congress leader calls for Deepender Hooda’s removal from CWC over Sajjan Kumar praise
✍️ Hindustan Times
🗓 23 Aug 2026, 12:33 PM
👁 21
A senior Haryana Congress figure has demanded that Deepender Singh Hooda be expelled from the party’s Working Committee after he praised convicted politician Sajjan Kumar.
A senior leader of the Haryana unit of the Indian National Congress has formally asked that Deepender Singh Hooda be removed from the party's Working Committee. The demand was lodged after Hooda publicly praised Sajjan Kumar, a former minister convicted for his role in the 1984 anti‑Sikh riots.
Deepender Hooda, a former Haryana chief minister and a long‑time Congress stalwart, has been a member of the CWC since 2022. His comments lauding Kumar, who is serving a life sentence for murder and conspiracy, sparked criticism from party members who say the remarks contradict the Congress’s stance on communal violence.
The Haryana Congress leadership has not yet issued a definitive response, but senior officials in the national party are expected to review the request. Analysts note that any move to oust Hooda could reshape the party’s internal dynamics ahead of upcoming state elections, while also signalling the Congress’s sensitivity to issues surrounding the 1984 riots.
Deepender Hooda, a former Haryana chief minister and a long‑time Congress stalwart, has been a member of the CWC since 2022. His comments lauding Kumar, who is serving a life sentence for murder and conspiracy, sparked criticism from party members who say the remarks contradict the Congress’s stance on communal violence.
The Haryana Congress leadership has not yet issued a definitive response, but senior officials in the national party are expected to review the request. Analysts note that any move to oust Hooda could reshape the party’s internal dynamics ahead of upcoming state elections, while also signalling the Congress’s sensitivity to issues surrounding the 1984 riots.