JALANDHAR: Former Union house minister P Chidambaram has stirred unease inside Congress by calling Operation Blue Star a “mistake” and saying ex-PM Indira Gandhi “paid along with her life for it”. His remarks mark the primary time a senior social gathering functionary outdoors Punjab has brazenly condemned the 1984 navy operation within the Golden Temple, lengthy a politically fraught topic for the social gathering.“No disrespect to any navy officers right here, however that (Blue Star) was the improper technique to retrieve the Golden Temple. A number of years later, we confirmed the precise technique to retrieve the Golden Temple by retaining out the Military,” he mentioned Saturday at a literary pageant in Himachal Pradesh, referring to Operation Black Thunder-2 carried out by Nationwide Safety Guard(NSG).He added: “There was a technique to retrieve and seize all of the militants, however Blue Star was the improper means, and I agree that Mrs Gandhi paid along with her life for that mistake. However that mistake was a cumulative choice of the Military, police, intelligence and civil service. You can not blame it solely on Mrs Gandhi.”Congress has maintained an ambiguous silence on the operation that triggered Gandhi’s assassination and the anti-Sikh riots that adopted.Chidambaram’s divergence from social gathering line shouldn’t be new. Through the years, he has publicly contradicted Congress’s positions on points starting from financial reforms to inner safety, together with claiming UPA authorities did not retaliate in opposition to Pakistan. after 26/11 Mumbai terror assaults on account of world strain.BJP swiftly seized on his newest remarks. Get together spokesperson RP Singh posted on method, like Operation Black Thunder, may have achieved the target with out desecrating the sanctity of Sri Harmandir Sahib or inflicting lack of harmless lives.”PM Narendra Modi, throughout his reply to the no-confidence movement in Parliament in Aug 2023, had referred to Operation Blue Star as “an assault on Akal Takht”.Inside Congress, few officers have ever publicly questioned the operation. Over a 12 months in the past, Punjab Congress MP and ex-CM Charanjit Singh Channi termed the Military motion an “assault” on Darbar Sahib and mentioned it was “improper”. No central neta endorsed or contradicted him. Congress has by no means formally apologized for the operation.