In a candid remark that has sparked widespread debate, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram described Operation Blue Star as a “mistake” and the “wrong way” to flush out terrorists from Punjab’s Golden Temple. Speaking on Saturday at a discussion on journalist Harinder Baweja’s book They Will Shoot You, Madam during the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, the 80-year-old leader reflected on the controversial military operation.
Chidambaram said, “There was a way to retrieve... and capture all the militants. But Operation Blue Star was the wrong way, I agree that Mrs (Indira) Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake. But that mistake was a cumulative decision of the army, police, the intelligence and civil service. You can't blame only Mrs Gandhi.”
