Former Delhi MLA Jarnail Singh passes away; Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia pay tribute

Former Delhi MLA Jairnal Singh passed away on Friday morning. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member was an MLA representing Delhi’s Rajouri Garden constituency from 2015 till 2017.

According to a report in The Tribune , the former AAP MLA passed away due to COVID-19 induced complications after undergoing intensive care treatment at a Delhi hospital for nine days.

“Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of former Delhi MLA Sh Jarnail Singh ji. May God bless his soul. He will always be fondly remembered for his contributions to society,” Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia remembered Singh as someone who fought for justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh riots. “The news about the demise of Jarnail Singh, a former colleague in Delhi Assembly is extremely sad. A voice which fought for justice for the victims of 1984 genocide has left us,” he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Deeply saddened by the untimely demise of former Delhi MLA Sh Jarnail Singh ji. May God bless his soul. He will always be fondly remembered for his contributions to society.

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 14, 2021

दिल्ली विधानसभा में अपने पूर्व साथी जरनैल सिंह के निधन का समाचार हम सबके लिए दुखद है. 1984 के नरसंहार के पीड़ित परिवारों के न्याय के लिए लड़ने वाली एक बुलंद आवाज़ हमारे बीच से चली गई. ईश्वर उन्हें अपने चरणों में जगह दे.

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) May 14, 2021

Singh was suspended from AAP in August last year over a post in which he was allegedly disrespecting Hindu Gods on Facebook. He had later deleted the post claiming it was his son who had put the post from his phone.

“Aam Aadmi Party is a secular party and has no place in the party of anyone who disrespects any religion. The Sikh community is also very sad with his statement because such misfortune against any community is also against the teachings of Guru Nanak Dev Ji (sic),” the AAP had said in a statement.

Singh resigned as the Rajouri Garden MLA in 2017 to contest the Punjab Assembly elections against former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Singh was also in the news in 2009 for throwing a shoe at the then Union Minister P Chidambaram during a press conference.

In April 2009, Singh, a journalist with a national daily then, had hurled a shoe at Chidambaram, who was then the Home Minister, in protest against his remarks on the clean chit to Congress leaders in the 1984 anti-Sikh riots case.