Operation Blue Star a mistake, says PC

Congress leader P Chidambaram said Operation Blue Star was not the right way to capture militants holed up in the Golden Temple in 1984, due to which the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, "paid with her life".

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"There was a way to retrieve and capture all militants but Operation Blue Star was the wrong way and I agree that Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for the mistake but the mistake was cumulative decision of the Army, intelligence, police and civil defence and you cannot completely blame (just) Mrs Gandhi," the former home minister said during a book launch in Himachal Pradesh's Kasauli on Saturday.

Meanwhile, party sources said that the Congress leadership is "very upset" with former Home Minister P Chidambaram for his remarks on 'Operation Blue Star, and is of the view that senior leaders should be careful before making public statements that create embarrassment for the party.