A day after former Congress MP Sajjan Kumar died while serving a life sentence in cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, a sharp political divide has emerged within the Congress over how his legacy should be viewed. The rift follows Haryana MP Deepender Singh Hooda’s remarks describing Kumar as an “example” and his death as an “irreparable loss” to the country’s political landscape, with Punjab leaders distancing themselves from the statement.The remarks have put the Punjab Congress leadership in a difficult position, with its leaders seeking to draw a clear line between Hooda’s comments and their own stand on the 1984 violence and its victims.Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, during his visit to Ludhiana, took a sharply different stand from the Haryana leader and described Sajjan Kumar as an “inhuman person”, holding him responsible for the killing of Sikhs in Delhi. Channi said the suffering of families affected by the 1984 violence could not be forgotten.“Even after all these years, the people who lost their loved ones continue to carry deep trauma in their hearts,” Channi said. He added that those responsible for crimes against innocent people could not escape justice.Congress leader Brinder Singh Dhillon also took to X to question the praise for Kumar. He said a conviction could not be erased by death and questioned how a person convicted in connection with the 1984 violence could be described as a “great leader”. He said such comments hurt the sentiments of the victims and their families.The controversy has also brought attention to Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, though he has not been reported as having endorsed Hooda’s remarks.Kumar, a former three-time Lok Sabha MP from Outer Delhi, died on Thursday while serving life sentences in two cases related to the 1984 anti-Sikh violence. The Delhi High Court had sentenced him to life imprisonment in 2018 in a case involving the killing of five Sikhs and the burning of a gurdwara. He was awarded another life term in 2025 in a separate murder case.