Labour Party promises probe into UK’s role in Operation Bluestar

Labour Party’s manifesto for the June 8 election released on Tuesday promises an independent inquiry into Britain’s role in Operation Bluestar at Amritsar’s Golden Temple in 1984 , when British special forces were allegedly involved.

The manifesto did not specifically mention India but promised to remove international students from overall migration statistics – a major demand of higher education stakeholders, who believe students are not immigrants since most return after completing studies.

Including them in the statistics has prompted new curbs, leading to a sharp fall in the number of Indian students coming to the UK in recent years.

The controversy over the UK’s role in Operation Bluestar arose when British documents declassified in 2014 led to an inquiry by the cabinet secretary. There have since been demands by UK-based Sikh groups for an independent inquiry, since other documents were allegedly not released.

The cabinet secretary’s inquiry report said military advice was given to the Indira Gandhi government in February 1984 (Operation Bluestar was carried out in June), and that it had a limited impact.

Bhai Amrik Singh of the Sikh Federation UK told HT: “We are delighted with the commitment shown by the Labour Party by making the pledge of an independent public inquiry in the manifesto. This puts real pressure on the Conservatives to revisit the issue.

“We will be increasing legal pressure before June 8 and the British government will want to avoid the truth being dragged out in the courts.”

Community sources said the mention had more to do with Labour’s bid to consolidate the Sikh vote in some constituencies, particularly in the Midlands. The manifesto also briefly mentioned the Kashmir issue. HTC