Chidambaram sparks row over Blue Star remark

Congress veteran and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram has stirred a political storm by calling the 1984 Operation Blue Star under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi "the wrong way" to retrieve the Golden Temple, saying she "paid with her life for that mistake." His comments, made at the Khushwant Singh Literary Festival 2025 in Kasauli, have drawn sharp reactions from both within his party and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

- TDG NETWORK

Congress MP P Chidambaram speaks to media. (File Photo)

Speaking during a discussion on journalist Harinder Baweja's book "They Will Shoot You, Madam: My Life Through Conflict", Chidambaram said, "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 through Operation Black Thunder by keeping the Army out."

He added, "Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake. It was a cumulative decision of the Army, the Police, the intelligence and the civil services - you cannot blame it only on Mrs Gandhi."