Overview

• Speaking at the Khushwant Singh Literature Festival in Kasauli while moderating Harinder Baweja’s book discussion, P. Chidambaram called Blue Star the wrong way to secure the Golden Temple and said Indira Gandhi paid with her life, citing Black Thunder as a better model that kept the Army out.
• He stressed the decision was cumulative across the Army, police, intelligence and civil service, arguing it should not be pinned solely on the prime minister.
• Congress sources said the leadership and rank-and-file are very upset and view his comments as embarrassing for the party, with no disciplinary action announced.
• BJP figures welcomed the critique to attack Congress, calling Blue Star a political misadventure and pointing to Black Thunder as a strategy that could have avoided desecration and civilian deaths.
• Renewed coverage revisited Blue Star’s 1984 context, including the operation against Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, the damage and casualties at the shrine, and the assassination of Indira Gandhi followed by anti-Sikh violence.