CHANDIGARH, Aug. 23 -- Former Haryana assembly speaker Kuldeep Sharma on Sunday asked Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to remove Rohtak member of Parliament Deepender Hooda from the Congress Working Committee (CWC) over his remarks praising former party leader Sajjan Kumar.

In a letter to Kharge, Sharma said Hooda's comments "re-opened the wounds" of the Sikh community and could hurt the Congress's prospects in Punjab, where the party faces elections. Hooda and Sharma were once close associates who have since fallen out.

Deepender Hooda had described Sajjan Kumar's death on August 20 as a "loss to the country's political landscape", a role model and praised the former Congress MP's "connect with people and contribution to Delhi's d...