Guwahati (Assam) [India], July 7 : BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday accused the Congress party of being responsible for the rise of Bhindranwale and for taking help from the British Army during Operation Blue Star in 1984.
He also alleged that Congress had committed multiple injustices against the Sikh community.
Speaking to ANI, Dubey said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Britain had written a letter to the Ministry of Home Affairs in 1984. Operation Blue Star happened in June 1984, this letter is dated February 1984. It is clearly written there that India asked for technical and physical help, and our (British) people had gone there. Congress was planning to attack the Golden Temple for six months."
He further claimed, "During an investigation, it was discovered that the Indian Army carried out this action under the leadership of the British Army. You gave birth to Bhindranwale and then attacked the biggest religious place of Sikhs by taking help from the British Army."
Dubey said the Congress was responsible for three major injustices against Sikhs. "Congress has done three injustices to the Sikh community -- you gave Kartarpur Sahib to Pakistan in 1947, and the community as a whole showed agitation... In 1984, when Sikh extremism was on the rise, you brought Bhinderwaale and then made Zail Singh the president. Later, you attacked the Golden Temple with the help of the British army. After the unfortunate assassination of Indira Gandhi, Sikh riots took place, and Congress leaders killed Sikhs, especially in Delhi. When a committee was formed in 2004, you made another Sikh the PM, Manmohan Singh. You have used Sikh people as a puppet," Dubey told ANI.
To support his claims, Dubey posted a letter on X between Brian Fall, then Private Secretary to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and Hugh Taylor, then Private Secretary to the UK Home Secretary. He claimed this letter showed that British army officers were present in Amritsar during Operation Blue Star.
"In 1984, Indira Gandhi launched an attack on the Golden Temple in collaboration with Britain, with British army officers present in Amritsar at that time. For Congress, the Sikh community is merely a toy," Dubey wrote.
He also made fresh claims about Kartarpur Sahib, saying, "1. Pakistan was finally given Kartarpur Sahib in 1960 through an agreement made by Sardar Swaran Singh."
Dubey added that Congress had promoted Sikh leaders to top posts to hide its alleged role in the 1984 riots and to protect its senior leaders.
"2. During the 1984 attack on the Golden Temple and the killing of innocent devotees, Giani Zail Singh was made President. 3. To cover up the 1984 massacre of Sikhs and to protect senior leaders H.K.L. Bhagat, Jagdish Tytler, and Sajjan Kumar, Manmohan Singh was made a puppet Prime Minister in 2004. The story of selling out the country and surrendering before foreigners continues," he wrote in his post.
Separately, Dubey also reacted to the ongoing row in Maharashtra over the use of Hindi. He criticised the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for targeting Hindi-speaking people and asked why they were not doing the same to speakers of other languages.
"You people are surviving on our money. What kind of industries do you have?... If you are courageous enough and beat those who speak Hindi, then you should beat all those who speak Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu. If you are such a big 'boss', come out of Maharashtra, come to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu -- 'tumko patak patak ke maarenge'. We all respect Marathi and the people of Maharashtra, who fought for India's independence," Dubey told ANI.
He accused Raj Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray of playing politics ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections.
"The BMC election is due, and hence, Raj and Uddhav are doing cheap politics. If they have courage, they should go to Mahim and beat any Hindi or Urdu-speaking people in front of the Mahim dargah," he said.
In a post on X on Sunday, Dubey wrote, "Those who beat Hindi-speaking people in Mumbai, if you have the guts, try beating Urdu-speaking people in Maharashtra. Even a dog becomes a lion in its own house, right? Decide for yourself who is the dog and who is the lion."