Congress MP Deepender Hooda. Photo credit: ANI

Senior Haryana Congress leader Kuldeep Sharma on Sunday urged party president Mallikarjun Kharge to remove Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda from the Congress Working Committee (CWC). Sharma accused Hooda of praising former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar, whose death has reignited a political row over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.Sharma, a former speaker of the Haryana Assembly, accused Hooda of “extolling the virtues” of Kumar as a role model, saying the remarks had caused resentment within the Sikh community and could hurt the Congress ahead of the Punjab polls.“Ever since Deepender Hooda, a permanent invitee to the CWC, issued a statement extolling the virtues of Sajjan Kumar, since deceased, as a role model, it has sent shock waves among the Sikh community,” Sharma said in his letter to Kharge, PTI reported.“A few of my Sikh friends from Haryana and Punjab called me to express their resentment over such an irresponsible statement,” he added.Sharma said the remarks could affect the Congress’ support among Sikh voters.“Such a statement by Deepender Hooda on the eve of Punjab elections has not only harmed the party’s interests, but has opened the wounds of the Sikh community all over again. It is needless to say that the Congress had disassociated itself from Sajjan Kumar completely,” he wrote.He urged Kharge to remove Hooda from the CWC, saying his “immature and irresponsible remarks have weakened the Congress, especially in the eyes of the Sikh community”.Hooda, however, denied using the words “role model” or expressing such a sentiment. Speaking to reporters in Gurugram on Sunday, he said, “I did not use the words, nor did I harbour any such sentiment. These words are being put in my mouth by those who wish to play politics by undermining the spirit of brotherhood.”“As for the Sikh community, people know that we have always stood by them and supported them in every way,” he added.Meanwhile, Punjab Congress leaders have also distanced themselves from Hooda’s remarks. Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the statement reflected Hooda’s personal view.“What Rohtak MP Deepender Hooda said, that may be his personal view,” Warring told reporters, while stressing that the 1984 riots remained a painful chapter.“Despite the passage of so much time, the trauma runs deep in people’s minds. As for Deepender Hooda said, that may be his personal view,” he said.Former Punjab chief minister and Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi was more direct in his criticism, saying Kumar “should have been shot publicly” for his role in the riots.

In a post on X, Channi described Kumar as a “murderer of the Sikhs” and a “traitor”.“Far from being a role model, even uttering his name is a sin. If such people become role models, then country will be destroyed,” Channi said.The controversy has also drawn attacks from the BJP, SAD and AAP, which have demanded that the Congress clarify its position.The controversy erupted after Hooda praised Kumar following his death, saying, “Today, the country’s political landscape has suffered an irreparable loss. He is cited as a role model nationwide.”Kumar, 84, died at Safdarjung Hospital on Thursday. A former three-time parliamentarian, he was convicted in cases linked to the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. The Delhi high court overturned his acquittal in the Raj Nagar case in 2018 and sentenced him to life imprisonment. In February 2025, he received another life sentence in the Saraswati Vihar murder case.