Punjab elections: Will the CIA report on Badal affect the SAD's prospects?
The CIA archives reveal that Parkash Singh Badal sided with Sikh extremists after Operation Blue Star
The Shiromani Akali Dal which is facing an uphill battle in the Punjab assembly elections has another problem to contend with. The Congress has been quoting a CIA report which states that as Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal sided with the Sikh extremists against the state government in the 1980s.
Documents available on CREST, the CIA's records archive, state that Badal sided with Sikh insurgents against the state government. The report based on a research paper submitted by the CIA is titled, 'India's most important Sikhs' filed under 'India and the Sikh Challenge.
The
report
states
that
Badal
worked
to
advance
his
personal
fortunes
by
heading
his
own
Akali
Dal
dissident
party
and
siding
with
Sikh
extremists
against
the
state
government.
'Twice
chief
minister
of
Punjab,
he
continues
to
try
to
position
himself
as
a
future
candidate
for
that
post,'
the
report
adds.
The
CIA
report
also
talks
about
how
it
thought
the
then
prime
minister
Indira
Gandhi
justified
her
decision
to
send
the
army
inside
the
Golden
Temple
in
1984.
Operation
Blue
Star,
which
took
place
between
June
1
and
6
in
1984,
was
ordered
by
her
in
order
to
establish
control
over
the
Golden
Temple,
Sikhism's
holiest
shrine
in
Amritsar,
and
flush
out
militant
religious
leader
Jarnail
Singh
Bhindranwale
and
his
armed
followers.
The CIA report also states that Rajiv Gandhi had said that he would renew efforts to address moderate Sikh demands after the 1987 elections. He might also choose to release Sikh detainees and offer agricultural subsidies to supplement the accord provisions, the report also stated.
OneIndia News