📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Viratchaudhary8000
Politics
Protest Outside BJP MP Tarun Chugh’s Amritsar Home Over Condolence Visit to Sajjan Kumar
✍️ Amar Ujala · Punjab
🗓 01 Sep 2026, 02:11 PM
👁 18
Three BJP MPs faced anger in Amritsar after they visited the home of late Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, convicted in the 1984 anti‑Sikh riots, to offer condolences. Protesters gathered outside MP Tarun Chugh’s residence, prompting a heavy police deployment.
Amritsar police deployed a large contingent of officers on Saturday after a crowd of protesters assembled outside the residence of BJP MP Tarun Chugh. Demonstrators shouted slogans condemning the lawmakers for attending a condolence meeting for the late Congress leader Sajjan Kumar, a figure convicted for his role in the 1984 anti‑Sikh riots.
Sajjan Kumar, who passed away earlier this week, had been sentenced for his involvement in the communal violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His death prompted several political leaders, including three BJP parliamentarians, to travel to his home to pay their respects, a move that ignited public fury in Punjab.
Local party workers and senior BJP officials said the MPs were merely expressing personal sympathy and had no intention of endorsing Kumar’s past actions. However, opposition groups and sections of the Sikh community viewed the gesture as a betrayal, demanding that the lawmakers be held accountable for appearing at the condolence gathering.
The police maintained a cordoned perimeter around Chugh’s house, using barricades and crowd‑control measures to prevent escalation. No arrests were reported, but the incident underscores the lingering sensitivities surrounding the 1984 riots and the political fallout that continues to shape Punjab’s communal landscape.
Sajjan Kumar, who passed away earlier this week, had been sentenced for his involvement in the communal violence that followed the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. His death prompted several political leaders, including three BJP parliamentarians, to travel to his home to pay their respects, a move that ignited public fury in Punjab.
Local party workers and senior BJP officials said the MPs were merely expressing personal sympathy and had no intention of endorsing Kumar’s past actions. However, opposition groups and sections of the Sikh community viewed the gesture as a betrayal, demanding that the lawmakers be held accountable for appearing at the condolence gathering.
The police maintained a cordoned perimeter around Chugh’s house, using barricades and crowd‑control measures to prevent escalation. No arrests were reported, but the incident underscores the lingering sensitivities surrounding the 1984 riots and the political fallout that continues to shape Punjab’s communal landscape.