Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram terming the 1984 Operation Blue Star as a ‘wrong approach’ and saying that Indira Gandhi paid the price for it with her life has drawn sharp reactions within the party. According to Congress sources, the party leadership is angry with his comment.
Rashid Alvi raised questions
His own party colleague Rashid Alvi has expressed serious apprehensions by publicly raising questions on Chidambaram’s remarks. Alvi said Chidambaram’s statement was similar to what the BJP has been making, and feared some pressure on Chidambaram due to the criminal cases pending against him.
Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, ‘Whether Operation Blue Star was right or wrong is a different matter. But why does P Chidambaram need to attack the Congress Party, i.e. Indira Gandhi, after 50 years and claim that it took a wrong step? He is doing the same thing that BJP and the Prime Minister are doing. This is unfortunate.’
Taking aim at Chidambaram, Alvi said, ‘Chidambaram ji’s repeated attacks on the Congress party are creating many doubts and apprehensions. Criminal cases are still pending against him. I wonder if there is any pressure on him to continue attacking the Congress party? I don’t understand why Chidambaram is doing this instead of highlighting the shortcomings of BJP in the last 11 years.
Read this also: Chidambaram confesses, Operation Blue Star was a mistake, Indira Gandhi paid the price with her life.
Displeasure of Congress high command
A top party source termed Chidambaram’s statement as ‘inappropriate’ and said it has caused embarrassment to the party. A top source in the Grand Old Party said, ‘From the Congress high command to the common workers, everyone is worried. A senior leader who gets everything from Congress should speak thoughtfully. It is not right to repeatedly make such statements which may cause embarrassment to the party.
What did Chidambaram say?
Chidambaram made the remarks during a discussion on journalist Harinder Baweja’s book ‘They Will Shoot You, Madam: My Life Through Conflict’ at the Khushwant Singh Sahitya Mahotsav in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh. He had said, ‘That (Blue Star) was the wrong way to reclaim the Golden Temple. Gandhi paid the price of that mistake with his life. This was the decision of the army, police, intelligence department and civil services. You cannot blame only Mrs. Gandhi for this.