The 32nd anniversary of the Indian Army’s “Operation Bluestar” in Amritsar passed off peacefully. A small group of people who raised pro-Khalistan and anti-government slogans were whisked away by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) Task Force and Punjab Police.
Except for these slogans by Sikh hardliners, there were no signs of trouble at the Akal Takht, the highest temporal seat of Sikh religion located inside the shrine complex.
SGPC Task Force members and police personnel in plainclothes kept a close watch on the hardliners who tried to hijack the ceremony.
Security agencies had been put on high alert in Amritsar. Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and SGPC president Avtar Singh Makkar appealed to all sections to exercise restraint and observe the anniversary peacefully – apprehending clashes between Sikh hardliners and moderates.
Paramilitary forces and Punjab Police personnel were keeping a close watch in different parts of Amritsar, especially around the Golden Temple complex. Prayers were held at the Akal Takht inside the Golden Temple complex on Sunday, and concluded on Monday.
In the last three-four years, pro-Khalistan slogans have been raised by hardliners during the anniversary function and clashes have taken place between both sides.
Badal told the media on Sunday that the state government was committed to maintaining peace and communal harmony.
The state government is keeping a strict vigil over the entire situation and every effort would be made to maintain law and order.
Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Makkar on Sunday reversed a decision by the SGPC Chief Secretary, barring media from entering the Golden Temple complex, and regretted that such a notice was issued.
Badal also termed the ban on media coverage on Monday inside Golden Temple Complex as “unfortunate”.
I called up the SGPC Chief Secretary on Sunday and urged him to reconsider these orders. Such orders are totally against the spirit of democratic nations as media is the fourth pillar of democracy.
The Punjab Police detained several radical Sikh leaders ahead of the anniversary as a preventive measure.
In Ludhiana, hardliner Sikh leaders Daljit Singh Bittu, Manvinder Singh Giaspura and Jaswant Singh Cheema were detained.
Radical leader Dhian Singh Mand, who was appointed last year as interim Chief of the Akal Takht by Sikh hardliners at a congregation near Amritsar, was also taken into custody by Ferozepur police.
Mand was detained to prevent him from reaching the Akal Takht to address people during functions to mark the anniversary.
In Bathinda, the police detained hardline leader Gurdip Singh and Hardeep Mehraj. Radical Sikh organisation Dal Khalsa has called for an ‘Amritsar Bandh’ on Monday.
Several people, including security personnel, were killed ‘Operation Bluestar’, the Army’s action on Amritsar’s Golden Temple complex in June 1984 to flush out armed extremists.
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