BJP Member of Parliament Nishikant Dubey has stirred fresh controversy by alleging that Operation Blue Star, the 1984 military action at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was carried out with the assistance of the British government.
Dubey claimed that British military personnel were present in Amritsar during the operation, which aimed to eliminate armed militants hiding within the Golden Temple complex.
"Indira Gandhi commissioned in 1984 an attack on the Golden Temple in league with the British. British army officers were there at the time," Dubey said in an X (formerly Twitter) post on Monday.
He went on to blame the Congress party for exploiting the Sikh community for political purposes, saying, "For the Congress party, the Sikh community has always been treated like a political pawn."
In support of his argument, Dubey had cited a top-secret and personal letter dated February 23, 1984. The letter, written by Brian Fall, who was Private Secretary at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the UK, was addressed to Hugh Taylor, Private Secretary to the Home Secretary. The letter concerned British advice sought by Indian authorities on a proposed proposal to remove Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple.
As per the paper provided by Dubey, "The Indian government recently asked for British advice on a proposal to expel Sikh extremists from the Golden Temple at Amritsar. The Foreign Secretary resolved to respond positively to the Indian appeal and, with the Prime Minister's approval, an SAS (Special Air Service) officer went out to India and laid down a plan which has been sanctioned by Mrs Gandhi.". The Foreign Secretary opines that the Indian Government could implement the plan soon.
Dubey further accused the Congress-led government of not just coordinating the action with international input but also of trying to control the aftermath through symbolic appointments. "While innocent devotees were martyred during the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple, the Congress government appointed Giani Zail Singh as President of India," he said.
He also accused that the choice of Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister in 2004 was politically inspired. Singh's promotion, in Dubey's view, was intended to protect Congress leaders who were connected with the 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
Manmohan Singh was appointed a puppet Prime Minister in order to shield the accused -- Sajjan Kumar, Jagdish Tytler, and H.K.L. Bhagat -- and hide the massacre," Dubey alleged. "The Congress has a long tradition of compromising national interests and conspiring with foreign nations.
Dubey also brought up again the controversy surrounding the Kartarpur Sahib shrine, claiming that India had lost access to the sacred shrine as a result of a 1960 deal brokered by then Congress leader Sardar Swaran Singh.
This remark came after another accusation he had leveled on Sunday, where he had accused the Congress of betraying India's interests by signing the Indus Waters Treaty of 1960. "The Congress government has given away 80 per cent of India's share of waters of the Indus River and Kartarpur Sahib to Pakistan," he had alleged.
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