Indira Gandhi paid with her life for carrying out Operation Bluestar: P Chidambaram

Senior Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram remarked 1984 Operation Blue Star as the "wrong way" to reclaim the Punjab's Golden Temple, reiterating that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi paid the ultimate price for that decision.

"No disrespect to any military officers, but that was the wrong way to retrieve the Golden Temple. A few years later, we showed the right way to retrieve it -- by keeping the Army out. Blue Star was the wrong way, and I agree that Mrs Gandhi paid with her life for that mistake," Chidambaram said at a literature event in Kasauli.

“You cannot blame it only on Mrs Gandhi. Would you?" the Congress leader questioned during a panel discussion at an event.

Talking about present-day Punjab, Chidambaram observed that calls for Khalistan have largely faded, while economic distress has emerged as the state's pressing issue. "My visits to Punjab have led me to believe that the cry for Khalistan or separation has practically died down. The real problem is the economic situation. Most illegal migrants are from Punjab," he said.