‘Cong compromised nation’s sovereignty’

The Shiromani Akali Dal ( SAD) on Tuesday lambasted the Congress for its nefarious designs against the Sikh community and said the release of top-secret British documents had exposed the actual conspiracy behind Operation Bluestar.

In a strongly-worded statement released from the party head office here, SAD secretary and spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said media reports had unearthed a major conspiracy of the Congress which even went to the extent of compromising on national sovereignty for political gains.

“It is shocking to see that to solve an issue of Punjab’s internal security, then Congress leader ( and Prime Minister) Indira Gandhi took the services of British forces. It amounts to distrust in the Indian forces as well as a compromise with the sovereignty of a democratic country,” Dr Cheema said.

He added that the Congressled UPA government must come clean on the unknown compulsions under which it had to take the help of forces from such a country against whom the nation had fought a battle of freedom for more than 200 years.

The Akali leader said it had become clear from the documents that then Congress government had made up its mind on Operation Bluestar as early as February 1984, but it delayed action only to create circumstances to justify it. He said thousands of pilgrims were killed in the operation, which had now proved to be a conspiracy against the Sikhs.

Dr Cheema said the only justification of colluding with British forces could be that they had the expertise to kill hundreds of freedom fighters in a massacre at Jallianwala Bagh in 1919.

The SAD spokesman said the UPA government should make public all relevant documents related to Operation Bluestar and must tell the nation the ‘truth’ behind the action whose wounds are still fresh in the minds of the Sikh community.