Sikh protesters burn Rahul Gandhi effigy over Sajjan Kumar ‘role model’ remark

Two days after former Congress MP and 1984 anti-Sikh riot convict Sajjan Kumar died, over 200 Sikh community representatives, including families of riot victims, gathered near Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s residence on Saturday afternoon (August 22, 2026), burning his effigy and beating it with slippers in an expression of anger over remarks allegedly describing Kumar as a “party role model”.

The protesters demanded a formal apology from Mr. Gandhi and the resignation of Deepender Singh Hooda, Member of the Lok Sabha, who made the remark, saying the Congress leadership had insulted the families who had spent decades seeking justice for the victims of the 1984 violence.

As slogans were raised against the Congress and Mr. Gandhi, protesters set an effigy of him on fire and struck it repeatedly with slippers before the police moved in to disperse the gathering. The protest was held amid a heavy police deployment, with barricades placed around the area.

The police first warned the protesters that the demonstration was unauthorised and asked them to leave. When some of the protesters continued to cross the barricades, five to six people leading the demonstration were detained and taken to Mandi Marg police station, police said. Those detained, including Delhi Sikh Gurudwara Management Committee President Harmeet Singh Kalka, were later released.

“The Congress party’s real face has come out now. A man who was behind bars for eight years and was given a life sentence, for whose death sentence there had been demands, is now being called a role model by the party’s leadership. This is deeply hurtful to the victims’ families. We decided to protest and demand an apology from Rahul Gandhi and his resignation over these remarks,” Mr. Kalka said.

Speaking to The Hindu, New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Sharma said the protest had been organised illegally near Mr Gandhi’s residence. “The protesters were warned, but they continued to cross the barricades. Five to six people leading the protest were detained and taken to Mandi Marg police station. A case is being registered against them,” he said.

Mr. Kumar, one of the most prominent political figures accused in connection with the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, had spent nearly eight years in Tihar jail after being convicted in a riot case. He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2018 after the Delhi High Court overturned his acquittal by a trial court. He died on Wednesday following health-related complications.

His death has revived tensions surrounding the 1984 violence, in which thousands of Sikhs were killed across in Delhi. The issue has remained a longstanding source of anger among victims’ families, many of whom have continued to demand accountability for those accused of orchestrating or participating in the violence.