Three Delhi MPs are called up by BJP president Nitin Nabin to offer their condolences for Sajjan Kumar’s passing.

According to persons with knowledge of the situation, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Nitin Nabin on Saturday summoned three Delhi parliamentarians who had gone to offer condolences for the death of former Congress politician Sajjan Kumar, who had been found guilty in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case. Nabin called in Yogender Chandolia, Kamlajeet Sehrawat, and Ramvir Singh Bidhuri to voice his displeasure with the MPs’ failure to follow the party line.

Following the assassination of then-prime minister Indira Gandhi in 1984, there was a Sikh pogrom; the BJP has been in the forefront of the fight for justice for the victims. Kumar, who was serving two consecutive life terms for killing Sikhs during the rioting, passed away in prison on August 20.

“The transgression by the MPs left the party embarrassed…as it is the BJP which has been pushing for justice and punishment for those responsible. Justice for the Sikh victims has been on the agenda of the BJP and after coming to power (at the Centre in 2014), the union government formed a dedicated SIT (in 2015) to reinvestigate the cases that had been pushed under the carpet by the Congress government,” a senior party leader said.

In Punjab, where the BJP plans to run independently in the next assembly elections, the matter could also turn into a scandal. The aforementioned leader stated that although political adversaries adhere to proprietary rules, in this instance, Kumar was an accused who the party vigorously opposed. “In such a case there cannot be a distinction between the party and the personal…” the leader said.

Three Punjabi leaders were disciplined by the party on Sunday for publicly criticising the party’s leadership and deviating from its platform during a press conference in Sangrur. Among them are former BJP Sangrur presidents Randeep Singh Deol and Maninder Singh Kapial, as well as former Punjab unit cell coordinator Jatinder Kalra.

The three leaders allegedly made remarks about the BJP’s internal affairs and organisational issues during a press conference that went against the party’s established line and discipline and negatively impacted the party’s credibility, reputation, and organisational image, according to the notices.

The party organization has requested that the three leaders provide written justifications for why they should not face disciplinary action within seven days of receiving the notices.