BJP attacks Congress after MP calls Sajjan Kumar a role model

Indian Opinion Analysis

The BJP and the Sikh political party SAD have attacked the Congress over tributes to Sajjan Kumar, a former party MP convicted in 1984 anti-Sikh riots cases. The first SOURCE from the Times of India leads with the BJP's sharp attack, including the branding of Rahul Gandhi's 'Mohabbat Ki Dukaan' as a facade for hate, and quotes only Congress leaders who praised Kumar, plus a clinical hospital statement on his death. The second SOURCE, also from the Times of India, foregrounds the rapid distancing by Punjab Congress leaders, Gurjeet Singh Aujla and Raj Kumar Verka, who call Hooda's remarks his 'personal views' and insist the party stands with victims, while adding detailed reactions from victim families and the SAD. The overall coverage is straight reporting with no discernible editorial slant, but the news judgment differs: the first article frames the story as an ongoing Congress liability being exploited by opponents, while the second emphasises the internal party damage-control and community hurt. A careful reader should note that the Congress itself is split, with the state-level Punjab unit contradicted by a national MP's statement, and that the BJP is using a single tribute to tar the entire opposition. The concrete next step is the continued judicial silence: victims' families still await final legal closure, and the political row will likely intensify as the next session of Parliament approaches.