Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday, 11 November, launched a sharp attack on Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's newly released memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', accusing the book of giving a "clean chit" to those responsible for the 1984 anti-Sikh massacre and demanding that Congress leaders in Punjab break their "criminal silence" on it. These are Badal's allegations; the memoir was released on Tuesday, 10 November.

Posting on X, Badal said: "Congress leaders in Punjab must break their criminal silence on the clean chit given by Sonia Gandhi to the killers of thousands of innocent Sikhs in 1984. Her admission that Rajiv Gandhi purposely and personally decided not to deploy Army units in Delhi because they included Sikh personnel finally provides the clinching evidence of Congress govt patronage of the anti-Sikh massacre."

"The Congress govt could send a Sikh General to lead Operation Blue Star on Sachkhand Sri Harmandir Sahib and Sri Akal Takht Sahib, but would not deploy Sikh Army personnel to protect innocent Sikhs in 1984?" he asked, questioning whether Punjab Congress leaders, including Sikh leaders, endorse the decision and adding: "Cowardly silence won't do."

Punjab BJP president Kewal Singh Dhillon also challenged the memoir's claims on Operation Blue Star, terming the book a calculated political ploy to whitewash the alleged sins of the Gandhi family and the Congress party 42 years after the events. He said the claim that Indira Gandhi had "tears of pain and remorse" in her eyes after watching footage of Operation Blue Star rubs salt into the wounds of the Sikh Panth, and accused the memoir of rationalising the military assault as an "unavoidable necessity" to absolve the family and the party. These are the two leaders' political charges, labelled as such here.

What the Memoir Reportedly Says — and Where the Readings Differ

According to the Press Trust of India's account of the book, Sonia Gandhi writes that then Army chief General A S Vaidya had received his orders the same night as the assassination, but "we heard later that he decided not to mobilise the nearest units because they were manned by Sikh soldiers, a factor that might have exacerbated the situation." In other words, the book, as reported, attributes the non-mobilisation decision to the Army chief, while Badal attributes it to Rajiv Gandhi personally. BJP leader H S Phoolka attacked the passage from a different angle, alleging that deploying the Army was the civil administration's responsibility and that the book clears Rajiv Gandhi by shifting blame onto Vaidya. The memoir also describes the 1984 riots as a "tragic and shameful" chapter in India's history.

No response from the Punjab Congress or the Congress high command to Wednesday's charges was carried in the reports checked for this story.

With less than four months to the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, the row is not a literary one in Punjab. The Congress is campaigning for a return to power in the state, the SAD is sharpening its Panthic identity, and the BJP is expanding its Punjab footprint — and 1984 and Operation Blue Star are once again live electoral issues. The open question is whether Punjab's Congress leaders answer Badal's challenge or hold their silence.