New Delhi [India], November 10 (ANI): Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Tuesday dismissed Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s account of the 1984 events, including Operation Blue Star, in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, as a "lie," accusing the Gandhi family of "crocodile tears" and saying "the blood of thousands of people is smeared on their hands."
Adressing a press conference, Sirsa rejected the memoir's account that Indira Gandhi expressed grief after the Army action at the Golden Temple during Operation Blue Star.
Sirsa said, "This statement coming from Sonia Gandhi ji that Rajiv Gandhi was very sad and grieving after the 1984 Sikh massacre—all of this is a lie. If she is lying to fulfill her moral obligation as a wife, that is a different matter. But Rajiv Gandhi orchestrated all of it...Sonia Gandhi is only talking about shedding crocodile tears, whereas the reality is that Rajiv Gandhi rewarded the very people who massacred Sikhs."
"She (Indira Gandhi) had no sorrow whatsoever. In a calculated manner, she worked to tear down Sri Darbar Sahib—the holy shrine of Sikhs...Now, atonement cannot be made with these fake tears. The blood of thousands of people is smeared on their hands. Those bloodstains cannot be washed away. Writing these false books is their family's moral compulsion but entire nation knows the truth," he added.
Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu also called the events "a dark chapter in history, which Sonia Gandhi has mentioned in her book."
He noted that she writes that Indira Gandhi felt remorse and had tears in her eyes on seeing pictures of the destruction at Darbar Sahib. "But who will take responsibility for that destruction? Congress has never accepted responsibility for it to this day," he said.
"Was that regret genuinely about the injustice inflicted on the Sikhs, or was it simply about a political decision that went wrong? If there was genuine sympathy and concern for the Sikhs... then why was a planned massacre of Sikhs carried out after Indira Gandhi's death? Why were their houses identified and marked before the killings? And why has the Congress party continued to protect those responsible for the massacre?" Sandhu said.
The memoir went on sale on Tuesday and has triggered a sharp political row. The BJP has accused Sonia Gandhi of "whitewashing" the Nehru-Gandhi family's record, while AAP has called her remarks on 1984 "a political statement." Congress leaders Salman Khurshid and Rajeev Shukla have defended the book, urging the BJP to read it and not give it a "political spin." (ANI)
"Writing false books is their family's moral compulsion": Delhi Minister Sirsa slams Sonia Gandhi's 1984 Operation Blue Star account
