Congress leader Sajjan Kumar has written to party president Rahul Gandhi submitting his resignation from the primary membership of the party, sources in the party said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Delhi High Court convicted Kumar for his role in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots and sentenced him to imprisonment for life. “I tender my resignation with immediate effect from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress in the wake of the judgement of the hon'be high court of Delhi against me,” he said in the letter to Gandhi.
The verdict comes 34 years after the horrific riots in 1984 that killed 3,000 Sikhs. A Delhi High Court bench, consisting of justices S. Muralidhar and Vinod Goel, found him guilty for his role in killing five members of a Sikh family in Raj Nagar in Delhi. Kumar has been asked to surrender by December 31.
The High Court, in its order Monday, said the riots were a “crime against humanity” perpetrated by those who enjoyed “political patronage”. Though it was “undeniable” that it took over three decades to punish the accused in the case, it was important to assure the victims that despite the challenges faced by the court, “truth will prevail and justice will be done,” the High Court said.
Sajjan Kumar has been part of the Congress party for more than three decades. He was first elected to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi in 1977 and was sworn as Delhi councillor. According to eye witnesses, when clashes broke out after the assassination of the then PM Indira Gandhi, he goaded the mob to attack and kill members of the Sikh community. In 2012, the Central Bureau of Court had accused Kumar of inciting mobs against the Sikhs.
In April 2013, Karkardooma district court in Delhi acquitted Kumar even as it had convicted five others in the case, stating that Kumar deserved the benefit of doubt. The CBI then challenged the acquittal.
After the sentence was announced, BJP President Amit Shah said that there was no doubt of Congress' involvement in the 1984 riots. He said he was thankful to PM Modi for for setting up an SIT in 2015 which, he said, started re-investigation into several cases of 1984 pending for over three decades. Shah went on to say, “I am grateful to the court, which has delivered its judgement, bringing relief to the traumatised families.”