‘Operation Blue Star A Mistake’: Chidambaram’s Remark Sparks Row, Congress Leaders Hint He’s ‘Under Pressure’
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram has stirred a major controversy by describing the 1984 Operation Blue Star as a “mistake” for which former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi “paid with her life.” The remark, made at a literature festival in Kasauli, has drawn sharp criticism from within his own party, with some leaders questioning his motives and hinting he may be “under pressure.”Speaking about the controversial army operation to flush out militants from the Golden Temple, Chidambaram stated, “No disrespect to any military officers, but that was the wrong way to retrieve the Golden Temple… Blue Star was the wrong way, and I agree that Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake.”
However, the former Union Minister also clarified that the decision was not Indira Gandhi’s alone, calling it a “cumulative decision of the Army, the police, the intelligence, and the civil service.”The comments immediately triggered a backlash from fellow Congress leaders. Senior leader Rashid Alvi accused Chidambaram of echoing the BJP’s line and questioned the timing of his statement. “After 50 years, what is P Chidambaram’s compulsion to keep targeting the Congress? By saying Indira Gandhi took a wrong step, he is doing exactly what the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi do,” Alvi said.
He then pointedly added, “Several criminal cases against him are still pending, and I wonder if he is under any pressure.”An unnamed Congress source also condemned the remarks, stating, “A senior leader who has been given everything by the party should speak with responsibility. Repeated statements that hurt the party are not right.”Operation Blue Star, which took place in June 1984, was launched by Indira Gandhi’s government to remove separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his heavily armed followers from the Golden Temple complex.
The operation, which involved tanks and heavy artillery, resulted in hundreds of deaths and deeply wounded Sikh sentiments, leading to the assassination of Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards just months later.
