Congress veteran and former MP Sajjan Kumar has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Rouse Avenue Court in the 1984 Sikh riots case. Sajjan Singh is already serving a life sentence in a case related to these Sikh riots by the Delhi High Court. Sajjan used to run a tea shop in Delhi. After entering politics, the political height touched. Who is Sajjan Kumar, who is sentenced to life imprisonment in Sikh riots and how is his political journey forward? Sajjan Kumar, who traveled from a tea shop to corporation councilor and Lok Sabha MP in Delhi, used to speak at one time. The corporation came into the eyes of Sanjay Gandhi from the election of the councilor and then did not look back in politics. After the assassination of Indira Gandhi in 1994, Sajjan Kumar was an important role in the communal riots in Delhi.
Sajjan Kumar sentenced to life imprisonment
Sajjan Kumar has been sentenced to life imprisonment after being found guilty in another case related to the 1984 Sikh riots. The case is related to provoking the crowd on 1 November 1984 at Saraswati Vihar, Delhi, in which Jaswant Singh and his son Tarundeep Singh were killed. The prosecution had said that Sajjan Kumar provoked the crowd and looted and arson on the houses of Sikhs on a large scale. Meanwhile, before robbing and setting fire in a house, the mob burnt two people of the Sikh community alive. In this case, he has been sentenced to life imprisonment. Apart from this, Delhi High Court sentenced Sajjan Kumar to life imprisonment in 2018 in another case related to anti -Sikh riots. They are lodged in Tihar Jail
Know who is Sajjan Kumar
Former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar was born in a Jat family in outer Delhi. Sajjan Kumar was born on 23 September 1945. His father’s name is Raghunath Singh. Sajjan Kumar has studied up to high school and used to run a small tea shop in Delhi to maintain his family. Being from the Jat family, he was considered domineering, due to which he joined politics. He came into politics after winning the municipal election in Delhi. Meanwhile, Sanjay Gandhi caught sight of Sajjan Kumar. Then gradually came close to Sanjay Gandhi.
In 1977, Sajjan Kumar contested the Lok Sabha elections from Delhi and surprised everyone by winning. He defeated Brahma Prakash, the first Chief Minister of Delhi, in the election. Sajjan Kumar was elected MP from the outer seat, after which his political importance increased even more in the eyes of Sanjay Gandhi. In Sanjay Gandhi’s Congress, he used to speak at that time. In such a situation, Sajjan Kumar started being counted among his close leaders. Sanjay Gandhi gave Sajjan Kumar an important role in the party.
Sajjan Kumar’s role in Sikh riots
In 1984, the country’s first female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was shot by her Sikh body guard, after which anti -Sikh riot started in Delhi and surrounding areas. Hundreds of Sikhs were killed in this riot. Sajjan Kumar was also one of the people whose names came out in the 1984 anti -Sikh riots. Sajjan Kumar was accused of provoking the crowd. Apart from this, Sajjan Kumar was accused of setting fire in the gurdwara, robbery and criminal conspiracy against Sikhs.
Sajjan Kumar’s name comes in Delhi in provoking riots against Sikhs. Especially in areas like Sultanpuri, Mangalopuri, Cantt and Palam Colony in Delhi. According to the victims of the riots, on 1 November 1984, while addressing the crowd in Delhi, Sajjan Kumar was heard saying- ‘Our mother killed, kill the chieftains.’ In the cases filed against Sajjan Singh, many witnesses said in their statement that Sajjan Singh had privately identified the houses of Sikhs and instigated the crowd to attack. It was also alleged that Sajjan Singh’s supporters identified the Sikhs’ houses and business through the voter list in Delhi and broke or set them on fire and many Sikhs were expelled from their homes.
Hira Singh brought gentleman to politics
At one time of Sajjan Kumar used to speak in the politics of Delhi. In Delhi, he played the role of kingmaker within the Congress party for a long year. Due to anti -Sikh riots, Sajjan Kumar was once identified as a domineering leader in Delhi. Even though Sanjay Gandhi has increased Sajjan Kumar ahead, Chaudhary Heera Singh brought him in politics. Sajjan Kumar used to run a tea shop but Chaudhary Heera Singh played an important role in getting him a Congress ticket in the election of a corporation councilor.
Hira Singh was considered a big leader of the Jat community at that time. Hira Singh got Sajjan Kumar a councilor ticket through Congress leader HKL Bhagat. Sajjan Kumar also won the corporation elections and after that he did not look back. He also reached Lok Sabha thrice after winning from outer Delhi seat. In 77, when the anti -Congress wave in the country was affected in Delhi too.
The Congress party became very weak in Delhi. After this, Sajjan Kumar was made the candidate of Lok Sabha in the next election in Delhi and he won from outer Delhi. Sajjan Kumar’s victory in this election was big. Sajjan Kumar defeated the first Chief Minister of Delhi and Chaudhary Brahma Prakash, called the lion of Delhi. However, after the anti -Sikh riots in 1984, the party cut the ticket in the next election. He got a ticket again in the 1991 elections and he won and reached the Lok Sabha.
Sajjan Kumar defeated BJP leader Sahib Singh Verma in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections and won from the outer Delhi Lok Sabha seat. After this, he was again made a candidate by the Congress in 2004 and he was successful in winning the election but in 2009 the Congress refused to give him a ticket, after which Sajjan Kumar went away from politics.
It was in the year 2009 when the Sajjan Kumar Party gave the Lok Sabha ticket but the party cut his ticket after the Sikh journalist tossed the shoe towards the then Home Minister P Chidambaram. Sajjan Kumar managed to get his brother Ramesh Kumar a ticket from South Delhi and Ramesh Kumar also won. However, in the 2014 elections, Ramesh Kumar suffered defeat and Sajjan Kumar’s brother did not get a ticket in the subsequent election. In 2018, Sajjan Kumar resigned from the Congress.
Congress was considered a Jat face
Sajjan Kumar was considered the Jat face of the Congress. He is holding a strong hold among the Jat society of Delhi. Sajjan Kumar had lifted the flag of rebellion against Sheila Dixit in Delhi on the basis of his political influence. Sheila Dixit could not brake on the politics of Sajjan Kumar even after millions of efforts. The Congress continued to present him as a Jat face in the politics of Haryana and Western UP, not only Delhi, but due to Sikh riots, the Congress started making distance again.
When the Congress was criticized for Sajjan Kumar’s name, he wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi and resigned from the primary membership of the Congress. Time brought them to such a place and made them stand like an anonymous in the politics of Delhi.
