Congress veteran and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Sunday described Operation Blue Star, the 1984 Indian military action to flush out Sikh separatists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, as “the wrong way” to secure the shrine.
Speaking at a literature festival in Kasauli, he said the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi “paid with her life” for the decision but stressed it was a cumulative mistake involving the Army, police, intelligence agencies, and civil service, and that she alone should not be blamed.
Chidambaram said, “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 the Army out.”
He described the operation, carried out by the Indian Armed Forces between June 1 and 10, 1984, to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and Khalistani militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar as a “mistake,” saying the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi paid for it with her life.
“Blue Star was the wrong way, and I agree that Mrs. Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake,” he said.
Chidambaram emphasized that the decision was collective. “But that mistake was a cumulative decision of the Army, the police, the intelligence, and the civil service. You cannot blame it only on Mrs. Gandhi. Would you?” he asked.
Reacting to his remarks, NDA ally and JD(U) national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan called it a dark chapter in history and alleged that Congress indirectly strengthened and established leaders like Bhindranwale in Punjab’s politics.
“The way Operation Blue Star was carried out can be described as a somewhat ill-considered decision. Whatever happened was undoubtedly very unfortunate. However, one thing should not be forgotten, and politicians should also remember this: even indirectly, Congress played a role in strengthening and establishing leaders like Bhindranwale in Punjab’s politics. Many such bold actions sometimes prove to be self-destructive,” he said.