New Delhi, Aug 29 (IANS) Senior advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader H. S. Phoolka on Saturday criticised party MPs Kamaljeet Sehrawat, Ramvir Singh Bidhuri and Yogender Chandolia for visiting Congress leader and 1984 anti-Sikh riots convict Sajjan Kumar’s residence, while praising party chief Nitin Nabin for swiftly reprimanding the parliamentarians.
His reaction comes after BJP President Nitin Nabin expressed displeasure at the visit of the three party MPs to offer condolences to Sajjan Kumar following his death.
A day before, Phoolka said in a post on X, “Sympathy should be reserved for victims and their families-many of whom live the horror of those days even till now,” while calling for the “boycott” of the three MPs.
Speaking to IANS, he said that the party’s stand has been very clear from the beginning.
“For the last 42 years, since this genocide took place, BJP has been standing up and supporting the victims in their battle for justice. The party has not only been demanding the strictest punishment for the accused (of the riots) but also has been playing a role to ensure justice,” HS Phoolka said.
He recalled that senior BJP leaders like late Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad had also appeared as counsel for the victims in Sajjan Kumar’s case.
Advocate Phoolka said that throughout the years, the party had also supported him in representing the victims.
He noted that the Nanavati Commission was appointed during former Prime Minister late Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s government, following which cases were initiated against Sajjan Kumar and Jagdish Tytler, “the same case in which Kumar was convicted”.
He added: “Sajjan Kumar was subsequently convicted and sent to jail. Despite his repeated attempts to get bail, the then BJP government ensured that he was not able to get that. He did not even get parole. There were clear instructions to Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that the latter had to appear in every hearing personally and not let Kumar get released.”
“Tushar Mehta ji followed the same, and ultimately he (Sajjan Kumar) died in jail,” Phoolka said.
The BJP leader asserted that in such a situation, the condolence visit by the three BJP MPs is “against the party’s stand” and is “absolutely wrong”.
“That is why as soon as the party chief (Nitin Nabin) got to know about this, he took swift action and reprimanded the three MPs,” he stated.
Further questioning the three BJP MPs for giving importance to Kumar, Phoolka said: “The MPs undertook the visit despite BJP being the one who made all efforts to ensure that he (Sajjan Kumar) is not able to come out of jail and even demanded the death penalty.”
–IANS
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