Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, has sparked a political firestorm, with the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) criticising the book’s account of Operation Blue Star.
Released on Tuesday, the memoir traces Sonia Gandhi’s remarkable life, from her childhood in post-war Italy and her marriage into the Nehru-Gandhi family to the assassination of her husband, Rajiv Gandhi, and her eventual entry into politics.
In the book, Sonia Gandhi recalls that her mother-in-law, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, was filled with remorse after witnessing the aftermath of Operation Blue Star.
“As my mother-in-law watched the slow-moving record, I could see her face wet with tears — tears of pain and regret. I think: sorrow at the manner in which the siege has ended, at the large number of lives lost,” she wrote.
On June 6, 1984, the Indian Army launched Operation Blue Star, storming the Golden Temple on the orders of Indira Gandhi to flush out Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale. Reports at the time said Bhindranwale had stockpiled large quantities of arms and ammunition within the temple complex.
Months after the operation, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, Beant Singh and Satwant Singh, at her residence in New Delhi.
The AAP criticised Sonia Gandhi’s account, questioning the remorse attributed to the former prime minister and describing it as an attempt to help people move past the wounds of the past.
“Had Indira Gandhi herself expressed such remorse at the time, it would have carried far greater significance. This sentiment, coming from Sonia Gandhi, is merely hearsay — it cannot be independently verified. It should be viewed as a political statement tailored to the current political climate,” AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj told ANI.
Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu also questioned Sonia Gandhi’s account, alleging that the Congress has yet to take responsibility for the incident.
“If there were remorse, like Sonia Gandhi has said that before Indira Gandhi passed, she had the realisation, the feeling that her death was imminent. And she had told her family how they have to handle themselves. So, firstly, my question is, was that remorse for the injustice that happened to the Sikhs? Was it for the attack on the Golden Temple, or was it about her own political decision?” he said.
The BJP also targeted Sonia Gandhi, accusing the Congress of repeatedly going to extreme lengths to retain power.
“It is a fact that the atmosphere in Delhi and Punjab at that time, where Sikhs were dragged from their homes and killed, reflects a recurring pattern in the Congress party’s modus operandi. Whether it is imposing the Emergency or inciting riots, the Congress has consistently shown a willingness to go to any lengths in its hunger for power,” he said.
