BJP pays tributes to Darbar Sahib ‘shaheedan', but then deletes post; move triggers debate

Time of India

2 days ago

Jalandhar: To mark the 41st anniversary of the army action at Darbar Sahib in June 1984, the Punjab unit of BJP on Sunday appeared to have taken a major shift in its stance through a post on its social media accounts.
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It paid a tribute to the "shaheedan" (martyrs) of the "day one" of the "attack" on Darbar Sahib, using expressions that Sikhs have used from the start. However, the post was soon retracted.
The BJP posted: "1 June 1984 - Saka (cataclysmic event) Blue Star – Humble tribute to all the martyrs of day one of the attack on Darbar Sahib by the Congress govt." It also used pictures of the damaged Akal Takht and an armoured army vehicle with deflated tyres, watched by three army men.
Calling the army action an "attack on Darbar Sahib" was not a first for the Punjab BJP; Prime Minister Narendra Modi first used it in Aug 2023 in Parliament. However, using the expression "shaheedan" for "all" those killed on day one and paying them tributes reflected the biggest shift so far. Calling it "saka" was also new for the BJP.
The Sikh community has been using this term from the start.
The post received mixed response and triggered a debate within BJP.
After over three hours, the post was deleted from Punjab BJP's Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts.
Initially, in 1984, Congress and BJP appeared to be on the same page regarding the army action, as it was projected or perceived as the "only option left" or "unavoidable". However, years later, BJP started showing a major shift. Although, for the last few years, even Congress leaders have not been justifying the army action, BJP leaders appear to be gradually shifting their stance on the controversial action.
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Yet, the saffron party has not been going to the other side of the spectrum, which is taking a position or using expressions used by the Sikhs. The social media post on Sunday reflected a tectonic shift, but its deletion reflected not only the dilemma, but also perhaps consideration of a section of its constituency.
For the BJP, late Arun Jaitley was the first to call the army action a "historical blunder". Jaitley's statement had come during a press conference in Jalandhar on April 18, 2009, in the run-up to the parliamentary elections that year, whenhe was BJP's general secretary.
On Aug 10, 2023, PM Modi made the first significant departure from the Centre's position on Operation Bluestar, when he called the army action "an attack on Akal Takht". He said this while replying to a no-confidence motion against him in Parliament.
"Akal Takht was attacked and it is still in our memory. They became habituated from Mizoram and due to this, they went on to attack Akal Takht. This happens in our own country and here they are sermonising us," said the PM as he criticised the Congress and actions by then PM Indira Gandhi's govt, including the use of air raids by the Indian Air Force on "helpless citizens in Mizoram" in 1966.
On Sep 18 last year, BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh called the army action an "assault" on Darbar Sahib as he criticised Punjab Congress for defending the Gandhi family.