Indira Gandhi Paid With Her Life For Op Blue Star Mistake: P Chidambaram

Operation Blue Star that was carried out on the instructions of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to flush out terrorists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in 1984 was the "wrong way" and the Congress leader "paid with her life for that mistake", former Union Minister P Chidambaram has said. 

The operation was, however, a "cumulative decision of the army, the police, the intelligence and civil service", he said, adding that Gandhi cannot be solely blamed for the same. 

The former Union Home and Finance Minister was moderating a discussion on The former Home and Finance Minister made the comments while moderating a discussion on 'They Will Shoot You, Madam', a book by journalist Harinder Baweja, at the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli on Saturday when he made the remarks. 

"No disrespect to any service officers present here but that was the wrong way to retrieve the Golden Temple. Three to four years later, we showed the right way to retrieve the Golden Temple, by keeping out the army," the senior Congress leader said.

"There was a way to retrieve and capture all the militants. The Blue Star was the wrong way. I agreed that Ms Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake but that mistake was a cumulative decision of the army, the police, the intelligence and the civil service. We can't blame it on only Ms Gandhi," he added. 

Operation Blue Star was carried out between June 1 and June 8 in 1984, as the Indira Gandhi government sought to crush a separatist movement in Punjab led by radical preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale.

Bhindranwale, who was holed up inside the Golden Temple, was killed after the Indian Army stormed the premises, one of the holiest sites for Sikhism. The army operation, during which the Akal Takht was turned to rubble, sparked massive resentment within the Sikh community.

Months later, Gandhi was gunned down by her Sikh bodyguards. The aftermath of her assassination saw widespread violence against the community. Multiple Congress leaders were suspected of having fuelled this violence. 

According to government estimates, over 3,000 Sikhs were killed in Delhi and elsewhere.

The Congress's handling of the situation, including former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi's "when a big tree falls, the ground shakes" remarks, has repeatedly haunted the party. The Bharatiya Janata Party has repeatedly targeted the Congress over the 1984 riots to counter its political attacks.