Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Sanjay Gandhi, Indira Gandhi’s son and a former MP sent money to militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed in Operation Blue Star in 1984, former special secretary, Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) GBS Sidhu claimed.
In an episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, Sidhu claimed that the political leadership at that time used Bhindranwale “to scare the Hindus” and create an issue of Khalistan to generate an apprehension among the masses regarding the integrity of the country.
“...At that time, the method used was Bhindranwale Khalistan. So they will use Bhindranwale to scare the Hindus & a new issue will be created of Khalistan which was non-existent at that time. So that larger population of India starts thinking that there would be a danger to the integrity of the country…” he said.
The former RAW official claimed quoting Kamal Nath that Congress wanted to recruit a “high-profile” saint “who could do our bidding”.
“I was in Canada at that time, people used to talk about why Congress is hobnobbing with Bhindranwale...Kamal Nath said that we wanted to recruit a very high-profile Sant who could do our bidding...He (Kamal Nath) also says - we used to send money to him. Kamal Nath & Sanjay Gandhi sent money to Bhindranwale…” Sidhu claimed.
The former RAW official claimed that Bhindranwale “never asked for Khalistan”, however, asserted that he would not even deny it if Indira Gandhi “puts it in his bag.
“Bhindranwale never asked for Khalistan in his life, he would only say - 'Agar Bibi, meaning Indira Gandhi, meri jholi mein daal degi toh naa bhi nahi karoonga'...They did not enlist religious sermons, they used him for political purposes,” he claimed.
Bhindranwale was the head of the Sikh religious sect Damdami Taksal and was killed along with his followers in Operation Blue Star launched by the Indian Army at the Golden Temple complex between June 1 and June 8, 1984, upon the orders of then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Operation Bluestar official on Bhindranwale
In an earlier episode of ANI Podcast in January this year, Lt Gen (retd) Kuldeep Singh Brar who led the 1984 Operation Bluestar, claimed that Indira Gandhi had “allowed” Bhindranwale to grow into a kind of Frankenstein monster and decided to "finish him off" when he had attained the pinnacle.
Lt Gen (retd) Brar, a retired 1971 war veteran, said, “No one wants an operation, but what do you do? Indira Gandhi allowed him to become Frankenstein. You could see every year what was happening. But when he reached the pinnacle, now finish him off, now destroy him. It's too late.”
He further claimed that the political leadership at that time allowed Bhindranwale to flourish.
“They had their own little problem support between Akali and Congress. They allowed this cult of Bhindranwale to continue," he said.
(With ANI inputs)
