'Pressure Because Of Criminal Case?' A P Chidambaram Problem For Congress

The Congress leadership is upset with senior party leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on the Indira Gandhi government's handling of Operation Blue Star, sources in the party have said. Chidambaram's party colleague Rashid Alvi has, meanwhile, flagged Chidambaram's recent remarks and questioned if he is under "any pressure" due to the criminal case against him.

"The Congress, right from the high command to the ordinary party worker, is upset. A senior leader who got everything from the Congress should speak mindfully. It is not right to repeatedly make statements that embarrass the party," a top source in the Grand Old Party said.

Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli, the former Home Minister said Indira Gandhi chose the "wrong way" to retrieve the Golden Temple in Amritsar from the control of radical elements. "No disrespect to any military officers here, but that (Blue Star) was the wrong way to retrieve the Golden Temple. A few years later, we showed the right way to retrieve the Golden Temple by keeping out the Army."

"Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake. It was a decision of the Army, Police, intelligence, and the civil services. You cannot blame it only on Mrs Gandhi," he said.

Chidambaram was addressing a gathering during a discussion on the book, 'They Will Shoot You, Madam: My Life Through Conflict' by author Harinder Baweja.

Operation Blue Star was a military operation carried out to flush out radical preacher Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his supporters, who were holed up inside the Golden Temple during the separatist movement in Punjab. Between June 1 and June 8, the Indian Army stormed the premises of the Golden Temple, one of the holiest sites for Sikhism. The army operation, during which the Akal Takht was turned to rubble, sparked massive resentment within the Sikhs.

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.

Rashid Alvi, a former Congress MP, asked what is Chidambaram's "compulsion" for speaking against Congress. "Chidambaram is doing the same thing which the BJP does. His statement is unfortunate. A criminal case is pending against Chidambaram. Is there any pressure on Chidambaram to give these statements? Instead of speaking against BJP, Chidambaram is pointing out shortcomings of Congress. This is wrong. Congress gave so much to these leaders, but I don't know why these leaders are trying to ruin the party now," he said.

This comes days after Chidambaram made headlines for his remarks on India's response to the 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai.

In a recent interview, the former Home Minister said the thought of retaliation had crossed his mind after the 26/11 attacks. "I did discuss it with the Prime Minister and other people who mattered. The Prime Minister had discussed this matter when the attack was going on, I can surmise. And the conclusion was largely influenced by the MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) and the IFS (Indian Foreign Service) that we should not physically react to the situation, but we should employ diplomatic means," he stated.

"The conclusion was reached amid pressure from the world that was descending upon Delhi to tell us that don't start a war," he had said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi used the remarks to target the Congress. "Recently, a senior Congress leader, who even served as the former Home Minister, revealed big things in an interview. He claimed that after the Mumbai attack, our forces were ready to attack Pakistan. The entire country wanted the same. But according to that Congress leader, the then government stopped India's forces from taking action due to pressure from another country. Congress must tell us who made this decision under foreign pressure, who played with Mumbai's national sentiment. The country has the right to know. This weakness of Congress strengthened the terrorists and weakened national security, a price repeatedly paid by the country in lives lost," the Prime Minister said.

Countering the Prime Minister's remarks, Chidambaram said in a post on X, "I quote the Hon'ble PM's words (as reported in ToI): '.....has said India was ready to respond after 26/11, but because of the pressure exerted by some country, then Congress government stopped India's armed forces from attacking Pakistan'."

"The statement has three parts, and each one of them is wrong, terribly wrong. It is disappointing to read that the Honourable Prime Minister of India imagined the words and attributed them to me," the former Home Minister said.