Labour word: To probe UK role in Operation Bluestar

After fielding six Sikh candidates, including two turbaned men and a woman, from three winnable seats for the June 8 UK parliament election, the

Labour party

has now promised to hold an independent public inquiry into the role of UK government pertaining to Operation Bluestar in June 1984.

The move is aimed at garnering the support of Sikhs in the 2017 polls.

There are 4,32,429 Sikhs in the UK according to the 2011 census.

UK-based Sikh Federation

in a release issued on Saturday has quoted deputy leader of the Labour party Tom Watson as saying, "Many Sikhs in the UK, including in my own constituency were shocked to learn about British involvement in the events leading up to the attack by the Indian army on the Golden Temple complex at Amritsar in 1984... The next Labour government will set up an inde pendent inquiry so that UK Sikhs are given the full truth about what took place. They have already waited for too long for their questions about British involvement to be answered."

The Sikh community in UK has been strongly raising the issue after two official papers declassified by UK government in 2014 hinted at the country's involvement.

Following an appeal by various Sikh bodies of UK, Labour party's leader Jeremy Corbyn had written to British prime minister

Theresa May

in January to demand a fresh independent investigation into UK's role in the operation.

Sikhs For Labour, which is campaigning among British Sikhs, too, has issued a statement claiming that the Labour Party has agreed at its special clause 5 meeting to include this promise in its manifesto.

The statement also quoted

John McDonnel

, shadow chancellor of the exchequer as saying, "in our manifesto Labour will commit to holding a public inquiry into the 1984 massacre that the British Sikh community have so patiently waited for and deserve..."

The Sikh representatives during a round table with Labour Party leaders submitted that the inquiry should seek to establish the reasons, including commercial interests for the UK government's military advice and support.
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