Declassify Bluestar files: Sikh panel

Mukesh Ranjan

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 11

The Sikh Forum headed by Pushpindar Singh Chopra today urged PM Narendra Modi to declassify all the files relating to Operation Bluestar. The demand was made at an event organised by the body where Lt General SK Sinha (retd) was the chief guest.

Taking a cue from the government’s decision to recently de-classify files relating to Subhash Chandra Bose, Chopra said that people need to know the truth about the circumstances leading to the operation.

General Sinha recounted the events that led to his resignation from the forces. He claimed that Operation Bluestar was a tragic episode.

“It was not the job of the army to arrest anybody and that the police and other paramilitary forces would have been used,” he added.

Incidentally, the Union Home Ministry and the Punjab Police were not on the same page, he claimed.

Sinha said an army action was in the then PM Indira Gandhi’s mind for more than 18 months before it was actually carried out.

The Sikh Forum questioned the rush to launch the operation at a time when a large number of innocent pilgrims were inside, why was army ill-prepared to deal with the resistance, what were the inputs from the intelligence agencies and did the army top brass mislead the PM or did she did so to the nation?