Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday, 11 November 2026, launched a sharp attack on Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sonia Gandhi over her memoir Belonging: A Journey of Love, specifically targeting her portrayal of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's reaction to Operation Blue Star. Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Sirsa declared the book a 'Journey of Hate' and pledged to expose what he called its 'lies'.

The Memoir Passage That Sparked the Row

The controversy centres on a passage in Sonia Gandhi's memoir in which she describes Indira Gandhi breaking down in tears after watching footage of the aftermath of Operation Blue Star — the June 1984 Army operation at the Golden Temple in Amritsar. Sonia Gandhi wrote: 'As my mother-in-law watched the slow-moving record, I could see her face wet with tears — tears of pain and regret, I think: Sorrow at the manner in which the siege had ended, at the large number of lives lost.'

Sirsa dismissed this account outright, saying: 'This is absolutely a lie.' He alleged that the book 'attempts to justify the scars of 1984', which he attributed to the Gandhi family's decisions.

Sirsa's Claims on British Intelligence Involvement

Going further, Sirsa alleged that before Operation Blue Star was launched, the Indian government had sought inputs from British intelligence — a claim he said was supported by British government documents. 'According to British documents, a British Military advisor prepared a contingency plan and handed it to Indian Intelligence in February 1984. Before the attack, Indira Gandhi took support from England's Army, not India's,' he alleged. This claim, if verified, would represent a significant historical controversy, though Sirsa did not table the documents at the press conference.

Timing and Targeting of the Operation

Sirsa also accused the late Indira Gandhi of 'deliberately choosing' the martyrdom anniversary of Guru Arjan Dev to launch Operation Blue Star — a date he said guaranteed the maximum presence of women and children inside the Golden Temple. 'Today, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to the Sikh Gurus on their martyrdom anniversaries and shares messages of respect. But what did the then Prime Minister do?' he said, drawing a pointed contrast.

He further alleged that the operation was motivated not merely by security imperatives but by a desire to 'punish' the Sikh community for opposing Indira Gandhi during the Emergency. 'This attack was intended to punish them,' he claimed.

Scope of Destruction and Silence on Gurdwaras

Sirsa highlighted that beyond the Golden Temple (also referred to as Darbar Sahib), 40 additional gurdwaras were attacked as part of the 1984 military operation. He criticised Sonia Gandhi for making no mention of this in her memoir. He also referenced the state-led reconstruction of the Akal Takht — a move widely viewed within the Sikh community as an encroachment on religious sovereignty and an attempt to conceal the scale of the destruction — and noted that Indira Gandhi never publicly expressed regret for the losses suffered by the Sikh community.

Political Context

Sirsa's attack comes amid the broader reception of Sonia Gandhi's memoir and touches on one of independent India's most contested historical episodes. 'Sonia Gandhi has written this book as she has started feeling that they will never come to power again,' Sirsa alleged, framing the memoir as a political image-rehabilitation exercise. The events of 1984 — including Operation Blue Star in June and the anti-Sikh riots following Indira Gandhi's assassination in October — remain deeply sensitive fault lines in Indian politics, particularly in Punjab and among the Sikh diaspora. How the Congress responds to Sirsa's specific historical allegations is likely to shape the next phase of the memoir's public reception.