Indira knew of life threat even before Blue Star: Pranab Mukherjee
Indira Gandhi knew her life was at risk when she decided to go for militarily storm the Golden Temple, President Pranab Mukherjee reveals in the second part of his memoirs released on Thursday. "The Turbulent Years, 1980-1996" (Rupa) says that "criminals, smugglers and anti-social elements" had joined the Khalistan movement and recalls that the Golden Temple had become a safe haven for them. The president writes that talks with the Akali Dal failed due to its rigid stance, and last ditch efforts were made shortly before "Operation Blue Star" - as the military operation was codenamed - was launched. "Even a few days before Operation Blue Star, an attempt was made to find a solution by holding a meeting with the Akali Dal leaders who were brought from jail to the lounge of the Chandigarh airport at midnight. "P.V. Narasimha Rao, Cabinet Secretary Krishnaswamy Rao Sahib and I represented the government in that meeting. Unfortunately, the talks remained unsuccessful," he says in the book released at the Rashtrapati Bhavan by Vice President M. Hamid Ansari. "By May 1984, it became increasingly clear that there was no alternative but military action to flush out the terrorists within the Golden Temple, particularly as the negotiations and discussions had not yielded the desired results." The decision to storm the Golden Temple was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) but no official was present at the meet, Mukherjee writes. Operation Blue Star was launched at the Golden Temple on June 3, 1984, with the army entering the premises. Mukherjee then writes how Gandhi told him she was aware of the threat to her life.
