Pro-Khalistan slogans raised at Golden Temple on 37th anniversary of Operation Bluestar

Supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) raised pro-Khalistan slogans at the Golden Temple and a large number of young people carried banners and placards saying "Khalistan Zindabad" on the 37th anniversary of Operation Bluestar on Sunday.

Describing the event as the "ghallughara (holocaust)" of 1984, Jathedar Akal Takht Gyani Harpreet Singh stressed on maintaining unity among the Sikh community.

Actor-activist Deep Sidhu, who was arrested by the Delhi Police in connection with the violence during the farmers' tractor march on January 26 and later released on bail, was also seen at the Golden Temple along with former MP Simranjit Singh Mann.

Operation Bluestar was an Army operation that was carried out in 1984 to flush out the militants from the Golden Temple.

Pro-Khalistan slogans were raised by supporters of the Shiromani Akali Dal (Mann) outfit led by Mann at the Akal Takht, which is the supreme temporal seat of the Sikhs.

Elaborate security arrangements were put in place in Amritsar to ensure that the event passed off smoothly.

Delivering his customary message from the podium of Akal Takht, Jatehdar said the Sikh community will always remember the unhealed wounds of Operation Bluestar.

"The Army action was comparable to a war between two nations. It was like a country attacking another nation,” Jatehdar added.

The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), the apex religious body of the Sikhs, displayed the bullet-ridden holy saroop of the Guru Granth Sahib.