Operation Blue Star was a mistake, Indira Gandhi paid with her life

Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram regrets

New Delhi – Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram has claimed that Operation Blue Star, conducted in June 1984 to flush out Khalistani terrorists from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was a mistake. Speaking at a recent event, he said, “We later showed that the Golden Temple could be reclaimed without deploying the Army. Indira Gandhi paid the price for this mistake with her life. However, it wasn’t her decision alone — the military, Police and intelligence agencies were all involved.”

Earlier, on 4 May, a video of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had gone viral in which he stated, “I am ready to take responsibility for any mistakes the Congress party made in the 1980s.”

Editorial Perspective

Golden Temple had become a fortified hideout for heavily armed Khalistani terrorists led by Jarnail Bhindranwale. A police operation was impossible — the loss of 250 soldiers in the operation underscores the necessity of a military strike.