E-Paper
Sikh man asks Rahul Gandhi about Operation Blue Star. His reply
Rahul Gandhi's remarks came during a question-and-answer session at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi acknowledged the historical wrongs committed by his party during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots, asserting that while he was not present during those events, he is willing to "take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history.”
The admission came during a question-and-answer session at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University in the United States two weeks ago.
A Sikh student confronted Gandhi over Congress' role in the violent aftermath of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s assassination, which led to the killing of over 3,000 Sikhs, largely in Delhi, amid accusations of complicity by several Congress leaders.
“You create a fear among Sikhs about what BJP would look like… We want freedom of expression, which has not been allowed under the Congress Party in the past,” the student said, questioning Gandhi’s previous remarks on religious freedom under BJP rule.
The student also referred to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution, which he claimed was mischaracterized by the Congress as a separatist manifesto. He criticized the party’s failure to reconcile with the Sikh community and pointed to convicted former Congress leader Sajjan Kumar as evidence of lingering impunity, saying, “Many more Sajjan Kumars are sitting in Congress Party.”
In response, Gandhi reaffirmed his condemnation of the 1984 riots, stating: “I have publicly stated that what happened in the 80s was wrong. I have been to the Golden Temple multiple times. I have extremely good relationships with the Sikh community in India.”
He went further, adding, “As far as the mistakes of the Congress Party are concerned, a lot of those happened when I was not there, but I am more than happy to take responsibility for everything the Congress party has ever done wrong in its history.”
The violent legacy of the 1980s remains a political flashpoint in Indian politics. The storming of the Golden Temple by the Indian Army during Operation Blue Star in 1984, in a bid to flush out separatist leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, deeply scarred the Sikh community.
The operation led to widespread resentment, culminating in the assassination of then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards and the anti-Sikh pogrom that followed.
BJP leaders were quick to seize upon the exchange. Senior BJP leader Amit Malviya remarked that the Sikh man “reminded Rahul Gandhi of the unfounded fear-mongering he engaged in during his last visit to the US,” calling the incident “unprecedented” and claiming Gandhi is now being “ridiculed not just in India, but around the world.”
