A group of pro-Khalistan members raised Khalistani slogans inside the Golden Temple while commemorating the 40th anniversary of 'Operation Blue Star' on Thursday.
A group of Sikhs, holding posters of Khalistani leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale raised the slogans as they commemorated four decades of the military operation which led to the assassination of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Bhindranwale, who led the Khalistan movement in the 1980s, was killed in the operation in 1984.
#WATCH | Punjab: On the 40th anniversary of Operation Blue Star, members of the Sikh community raise slogans inside the Golden Temple premises in Amritsar.
— ANI (@ANI) June 6, 2024
Posters of Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale also seen during the demonstration. Pro-Khalistan slogans also raised. pic.twitter.com/QTrrpnekCq
Shiromani Akali Dal (Amritsar) leader Simranjit Singh Mann was also seen among Sikhs who raised the slogans. Security measures were beefed up in Golden Temple premises and measures were taken by police to prevent untoward incidents. “Security arrangements have been made here. Forces have been deployed and barricading has been done. Any untoward incident will be monitored," said Senior Superintendent of Police S.S. Randhawa Singh to ANI.
On June 6, 1984, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to carry out Operation Blue Star, to flush out militants camping inside the Golden Temple complex. Bhindranwale, head of the radical Sikh outfit Damdami Taksal, camped along with a few others inside the temple complex and it was allegedly reported that Bhindranwale had stashed large quantities of arms on the Golden Temple premises.
The Army gunned down Bhindranwale and his followers in the operation. Indira Gandhi faced severe criticism for the operation and she was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards-- Beant Singh and Satwant Singh--on October 31, 1984 at her residence.
In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, Sarabjeet Singh Khalsa, son of Beant Singh, won from Faridkot reserve parliamentary constituency in Punjab against the AAP’s candidate Karamjit Singh Anmol.
-with inputs from agencies.
