SAD leader Simranjit Singh Mann accuses Lt Gen Kuldeep Singh Brar of being a war criminal
New Delhi, February 1, 2023 (ANI): Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Simranjit Singh Mann accused retired Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar of being a war criminal for his role in operation 'Blue Star'.
He further stated that Brar should be tried in court for all the damage he inflicted on the Sikh people in India and the holy shrine of 'Darbar Sahib'. He further stated that Brar should be tried in court for all the damage he inflicted on the Sikh people in India and the holy shrine of 'Darbar Sahib'.
"What can we say to the culprit who are behind the genocide, and vandalism which happened on the 'Darbar Sahib'? Lieutenant General Kuldeep Singh Brar is a war criminal, he should be tried in a criminal court for all the damage he has done to the Sikh religion and with the rest of India," Mann said.
The Member of Parliament called Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale as a leader who wanted to liberate the Sikh people.
"We consider Bhindranwale as our leader who wanted to liberate us," he mentioned.
This comes after the recent episode of ANI Podcast with Smita Prakash, where the retired 1971 war veteran, Lt Gen (retd) Brar claimed that Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had "allowed" militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale to grow into a sort of Frankenstein monster in operation 'Blue Star'.
"No one wants an operation, but what do you do? Indira Gandhi allowed him to become Frankenstein. You could see every year what was happening. But when he reached the pinnacle, now finish him off, now destroy him. It is too late," he said.
He claimed that the then-political leadership had allowed the Bhindranwale cult to flourish.
"They had their own little problem support between Akali and Congress. They allowed this cult of Bhindranwale to continue," the retired army officer said.
In the episode titled "Never before heard stories from the man who led Operation Blue Star" Lt Gen Kuldip Singh Brar recalled the situation of Punjab in the 1980s at a time when he said Bhindranwale was in full control of the state.
Lt Gen Brar said that law and order had completely collapsed in Punjab and the "feeling of Khalistan" was building up.
Bhindranwale was the head of the Sikh religious sect Damdami Taksal. He was killed along with his armed followers during Operation Blue Star launched by the Indian Army at the Golden Temple complex.
The Indian Army carried out Operation Blue Star in 1984 between June 1 and June 8. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, had ordered the military operation to flush out Sikh terrorists including Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who were accumulating weapons inside the premises of the Golden Temple. (ANI)