Blue Star memorial: Wary govt grabs Punjab govt's collar

Union Home Minister P Chidambaram on Friday said that the Centre was keeping a close watch on the situation in Punjab in the wake a move to set up a memorial in Golden Temple for those killed during 'Operation Blue Star'.

The Centre is also keeping a tab on the incidents that took place across Punjab against the death sentence to Balwant Singh Rajoana, the assassin of former Chief Minister Beant Singh, the Home minister said.

Sharing the concern of Congress leaders at a special meeting at the Punjab Pradesh Congress office in Chandigarh, he said he was seized of the move to set up of the memorial inside the Durbar Sahib Complex and had raised the issue with Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

Chidambaram said the chief minister had told him that he or his government had nothing to do with it as it was being done by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhik Committee.

He said Badal had also told him that it was not really a memorial but a Gurdwara which was being built and there will not be any photograph of anybody inside it.

Congress leaders disputed Badal's claims and told Chidambaram that the SGPC was under direct control of Badal's party, the Shiromani Akali Dal.

They expressed fear that the move could resurrect militancy in Punjab and said people believed that the Akali-BJP government was encouraging it.

A Congress leader told Chidrambaram, "Allowing, rather facilitating the Operation Bluestar Memorial, and letting people roam freely seeking pardon to Rajoana had created fear psychosis among the minorities in Punjab."

Punjab PCC chief Amarinder Singh said he had suggested that there should be a memorial outside the Darbar Sahib Complex for those killed during militancy.

The Operation Blue Star was launched by the army in 1984 to flush out holed-up Sikh militants led by Jarnail Singh Bhindrawale, who was killed along with his associates in the Golden Temple.