Senior Congress leader and former Union Home Minister P Chidambaram got embroiled in a controversy after he criticised the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government’s handling of Operation Blue Star. While speaking at the Kushwant Singh Literary Festival in Kasauli, Himachal Pradesh, on Sunday (12th October), Chidambaram said that Indira Gandhi adopted the “wrong way” to retrieve the Golden Temple in Amritsar, Punjab, from the Khalistanis.
“… 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 out the Army. There was a way to retrieve and capture all the militants, but the Blue Star was the wrong way, and I agree that Mrs Gandhi (former PM Indira Gandhi) paid with her life for that mistake. That mistake was a cumulative decision of the Army, Police, intelligence and the civil services. You cannot blame it only on Mrs Gandhi…” said Chidambaram.
#WATCH | Kasauli, Solan, HP: Former Home Minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram says, "… 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… pic.twitter.com/QpFJEGYNQQ
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2025
Responding to Chidambaram’s remarks, Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) General Secretary Bhai Gurcharan Singh Grewal said that Indira Gandhi was responsible for the operation as she was the Prime Minister at that time, and it was her decision. “… Chidambaram sahab is absolutely right. The Operation Blue Star was not right, and it could have been avoided. Since the beginning, Congress has been lying, and now they have furthered their lies that Indira Gandhi is not solely responsible for this operation. Nobody will believe this. Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister, and it was entirely her decision… If you have made this statement sincerely, we welcome it…”
#WATCH | Amritsar, Punjab | Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) General Secretary Bhai Gurcharan Singh Grewal says, "… Chidambaram sahab is absolutely right. The Operation Blue Star was not right, and it could have been avoided. Since the beginning, Congress has been… https://t.co/tD09prP8Eg pic.twitter.com/d49naGZbEb
— ANI (@ANI) October 12, 2025
Chidambaram’s statement also attracted backlash from his party leadership. Slamming Chidambaram for his opinion, Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi questioned what compelled him to make these remarks. “Whether Operation Blue Star was right or wrong is a different matter. But what compels P Chidambaram to attack the Congress party, Indira Gandhi, claiming she took the wrong step, after 50 years? He’s doing the same thing the BJP and the Prime Minister would do. It’s unfortunate,” said Alvi. He added that Chidambaram’s words raised suspicion about him and questioned whether he was under any pressure to criticise the Congress party because of some criminal cases pending against him.
Taking a dig at the Congress Party, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Minority Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, said that Chidambaram admitted his party’s mistake too late. “Chidambaram Ji admits the Congress blunders too late! After revealing that India could not respond to- Pakistan terror attacks in Mumbai, due to high pressure from USA & foreign powers, now he admits operation blue star in Golden Temple was also a mistake,” the Minister wrote on X on Sunday.
Chidambaram Ji admits the Congress blunders too late! After revealing that India could not respond to- Pakistan terror attacks in Mumbai, due to high pressure from USA & foreign powers, now he admits operation blue star in Golden Temple was also a mistake. https://t.co/esqDjeLF8U pic.twitter.com/rIUxoE2LMO
— Kiren Rijiju (@KirenRijiju) October 12, 2025
BJP National spokesperson RP Singh also attacked the Congress party for Operation Blue Star, and agreed with Chidambaram’s statement. “History must record the truth. As a nationalist, I strongly believe that Operation Blue Star was completely avoidable, as rightly mentioned by former Home Minister P Chidambaram,” said Singh. He added that Indira Gandhi allowed Operation Blue Star for “political reasons and electoral gain” and portrayed the “most patriotic community of India, the Sikhs, as anti-national” but got “trapped in her own political web and ultimately paid for it with her life”. “But the real tragedy was borne by my community. Over 3,000 Sikhs were brutally massacred in Delhi and more than 30,000 killed across Punjab, victims of a calculated political design that tore apart the social fabric of the nation,” Singh added.
Operation Blue Star was launched between 1st June and 10th June 1984 to remove Khalistani terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the Sri Harmandir Sahib complex (Golden Temple) in Amritsar. The operation, though successful, had far-reaching consequences. The Army Chief, who had coordinated the operation, former army chief General AS Vaidya, was brutally assassinated by Khalistani terrorists only 2 years later. It also led to the assassination of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on 31st October 1984, which triggered widespread anti-Sikh riots across India, leaving thousands dead and deep scars on the nation.
