Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra on Tuesday said Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s mention of Operation Blue Star in her book was akin to “rubbing salt in the wounds” of the Sikh community.
In her tell-all memoir, “Belonging: A Journey of Love”, the former Congress president said that the 1984 anti-Sikh riots remain a “tragic and shameful” chapter in the country’s history.
Malhotra said, “Congress leader Sonia Gandhi has written in her book that after Operation Blue Star, former prime minister Indira Gandhi was distressed upon seeing the pictures of Swarn Mandir Sahib and Akal Takht Sahib. This statement is contrary to the facts. It is like rubbing salt in the wounds of the Sikh community.”
Demanding an apology from Sonia Gandhi, he said that when Indira Gandhi herself had given the order, there was no question of her being “distressed” upon seeing the pictures.
“The truth is that the attack on Swarn Mandir Sahib in Amritsar, which is the supreme centre of faith for Sikhs, was carried out on the orders of Indira Gandhi. When she gave the order, she must have known what the consequences would be. So, there is no question of her being distressed,” the Delhi BJP president said in a statement.
He said that it would have been better if, “instead of fabricating lies”, Sonia Gandhi had publicly apologised to the Sikh community and its future generations for the Sikh genocide committed by the Congress in 1984.
Delhi Cabinet Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa said there is no truth in former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi being saddened after the 1984 Sikh massacre.
“Sonia Gandhi mentioned that Rajiv Gandhi was deeply saddened after the 1984 Sikh massacre. This is all a lie. The truth is that Rajiv Gandhi made those who massacred Sikhs ministers and chief ministers. There is blood on the hands of the Gandhi family,” Sirsa said.
Sonia Gandhi asserted in her book that while her husband’s heart held no bigotry or rancour, he was thrust into a moment in history when effective governance had foundered and barbaric acts followed.
HarperCollins published the memoir, which hit shelves on Tuesday.