New Delhi, November 10, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
A political controversy has erupted after Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi recalled the emotional reaction of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to photographs showing the devastation caused during Operation Blue Star in 1984, prompting a sharp response from the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD).
In her upcoming memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, scheduled for release on Tuesday, Sonia Gandhi has described how her mother-in-law was moved to tears after seeing images of the damage inside the Golden Temple complex.
In an interview with The Guardian ahead of the book’s release, Sonia Gandhi reportedly recalled that when Indira Gandhi was shown the photographs, “tears rolled down her face”.
The remarks drew criticism from SAD spokesperson Arshdeep Singh Kler, who questioned the Congress leadership’s expression of anguish over an operation that caused extensive damage to the Golden Temple complex and Sri Akal Takht Sahib, the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.
Kler alleged that Operation Blue Star was part of a conspiracy and said the pain inflicted on the Sikh community would remain in its collective memory for generations.
Drawing a parallel with the 1984 anti-Sikh violence, he accused the Congress of responsibility for the killings of innocent Sikhs and challenged its leaders to speak to families who lost relatives and whose homes were burnt during the violence.
“The Congress committed genocide against Sikhs, and innocent Sikhs were murdered,” he said.
Sonia Gandhi also recalled that Indira Gandhi had received threats to her life following the military operation and had begun preparing her family for the possibility of her death.
“She told us what to do in case she died — so she knew,” Sonia Gandhi was quoted as saying. She also recalled Indira Gandhi telling Rahul Gandhi to remain brave and not cry if anything happened to her.
Sonia Gandhi said she believed Indira Gandhi’s visit to Kashmir with her grandchildren that summer was an attempt to say goodbye.
Operation Blue Star was launched by the Indian Army in June 1984 to flush out armed militants from the Golden Temple complex in Amritsar. The operation remains a deeply sensitive chapter in Sikh history, particularly because of the damage to Sri Akal Takht Sahib and other parts of the complex.
Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984, months after the operation.
Defending the Congress, party working president Raj Kumar Verka said the party had never justified Operation Blue Star and maintained that it stood with Punjab and its people. He also referred to visits by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to the Golden Temple, saying both leaders had offered prayers at the shrine.
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