P Chidambaram's recent remarks calling Operation Blue Star a "mistake" have ignited a political firestorm, placing the Congress party in a delicate position while drawing support from the BJP. The former Union Home Minister's comments, made at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, mark a rare instance of a senior Congress leader openly criticizing the controversial 1984 military operation.
Chidambaram stated that the operation, aimed at removing armed terrorists led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple, was the "wrong way" to handle the situation. He argued that a different approach, similar to Operation Black Thunder, which involved keeping the Army out of the Golden Temple, could have been more effective. He also noted that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi "paid with her life" for the decision, while also stating that the decision was a "cumulative" one involving the army, police, intelligence and civil services.
The BJP has been quick to capitalize on Chidambaram's statement, labeling Operation Blue Star a "political misadventure" by Indira Gandhi rather than a "national necessity". BJP spokesperson R.P. Singh said that the operation was "completely avoidable" and that a strategy like Operation Black Thunder could have achieved the same objective without "desecrating the sanctity of Sri Harmandir Sahib or causing loss of innocent lives". Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa stated that Chidambaram's remarks expose the Congress party's "historic mistake" of committing atrocities against the Sikh community. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju accused Chidambaram of admitting Congress's blunders too late.
Chidambaram's comments have reignited a sensitive debate that has long plagued the Congress party. The party has maintained what some describe as an ambiguous silence on the operation, which led to Indira Gandhi's assassination and the subsequent anti-Sikh riots. The BJP argues that the Sikh community will never forgive Congress for Operation Blue Star. According to BJP, Indira Gandhi chose "the path of confrontation for 'political reasons and electoral gain'", seeking to ignite nationalist fervour before the 1984 parliamentary elections by portraying the "most patriotic community of India, the Sikhs, as anti-national". One BJP spokesperson claimed that over 3,000 Sikhs were brutally massacred in Delhi and more than 30,000 killed across Punjab as victims of a calculated political design.
This is not the first time Chidambaram has publicly dissented from the Congress party line. He has previously contradicted the party's stance on economic reforms and internal security matters. While Chidambaram acknowledged that Indira Gandhi paid the ultimate price for the decision, he also stressed that the responsibility for Operation Blue Star was collective, involving the Army, police, intelligence agencies, and civil service.
