Sukhbir disassociates from Bluestar memorial

Ludhiana, June 6 - Punjab Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal today sought to distance himself and the state government from construction of Operation Blue Star' memorial in Amritsar by radical Sikhs even as Congress warned him against "playing with peace" in Punjab. Sukhbir told reporters here this afternoon that the state government had nothing to do with the memorial project. He said it was a project of the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabhandak Committee (SGPC) and Damdmi Taksal (a radical Sikh group) which are constructing the memorial for those who were killed during the Operation Bluestar by security forces to flush out militants from the Golden Temple in Amritsar in June 1984. BJP, an alliance partner in the state government led by SAD, has opposed the memorial saying such a move could encourage the hardliners in the state. Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Amarinder Singh warned Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Sukhbir against "playing with peace" in Punjab. "Punjab has suffered a lot and let us not take the state back to the dark days", he told a press conference in Jalandhar during his campaign tour for civic body elections. Maintaining that the Operation Bluestar was history now, Amarinder said the state needs to look forward towards peace, progress and prosperity. He asked the Badals as to what was the purpose behind setting up the memorial after about three decades. He also condemned the glorification of the Balwant Singh Rajoana, convicted for assassination of former Chief Minister Beant Singh.