Punjab BJP Retracts Social Media Post on Operation Blue Star

Chandigarh, June 2 (PTI) - The Punjab unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently retracted a social media post in which it paid homage to the so-called "martyrs" of Operation Blue Star.

This military operation was launched in June 1984 to clear armed militants from the Golden Temple complex.

The controversial post, initially shared on the social media platform X on a Sunday, was removed without any explanation provided.

The Punjab BJP had used the post to criticize the Congress government at the time for what they referred to as an "attack on the Golden Temple" and showed sympathy for the families affected.

The now-deleted message read, "June 1, 1984, 'Saka Neela Tara'.

A humble tribute to all the martyrs of the day one of the attack on the Darbar Sahib by the Congress government."

Additionally, the post featured images showing damage to the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, and an image of an armoured vehicle with punctured tyres.

The same content was briefly shared on Facebook before it was also removed hours later.

In a related development, the officiating Jathedar of the Akal Takht, Giani Kuldip Singh Gargaj, has urged the Sikh community to observe the first week of June as "Shaheedi Hafta" (martyrdom week).

He called for the community to unite in spirit and offer homage to those considered martyrs.

In his statement, Gargaj noted that in June 1984, while Sikh devotees were commemorating the martyrdom day of their fifth Guru, Guru Arjan Dev, a military operation was launched on their central religious sites, including the Sachkhand Sri Harmandar Sahib and the Sri Akal Takht Sahib, by the then Congress-led government.

"The Sikh community can never forget the military attack of June 1984," he asserted.

He further emphasized that for the Sikh Panth, the first week of June is emotionally significant, marking a time to remember the martyrs.

The Jathedar encouraged Sikh communities globally to organize special 'Gurmat Samagams' (religious congregations), lectures, and seminars from June 1 to 6.

He also advised all gurdwara management committees to hold special Sri Akhand Path Sahib recitations and to engage historians and preachers in educating the 'sangat' (congregation) about both the Operation Blue Star of June 1984 and the anti-Sikh riots of November 1984.

(Only the headline of this report may have been reworked by Editorji; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)