New Delhi, November 11
Retired Punjab DGP Kirpal Dhillon has blamed former President Zail Singh and former Home Minister Buta Singh of playing a "dubious game" meant to scuttle whatever the Rajiv-Longowal accord-signed in 1985-meant to achieve.

He goes on to blame KPS GIll, the then IG of Punjab, for lapses in security that led to the killing of Harchand Singh Longowal. He also blames Arjun Singh of giving rise to militancy in post-Bluestar days.

Kirpal Dhillon a, 1953-batch IPS of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, has penned his memoirs: "Time Present & Time Past Memoirs of Top Cop". The book was launched here tonight. Handpicked by Indira Gandhi, Dhillion was posted as the DGP on July 3, 1984-a month after Operation Bluestar. He was the DGP till a few days before the Surjit Singh Barnala government was sworn in on September 29, 1985. Longowal was assassinated by militants in August 1985.

In his book, Dhillion says: "Longowal had credibility among Hindus and Sikhs. This did not suit Zail Singh and Buta Singh and their supporters in the Punjab Congress, who had been playing a dubious game to negate whatever Longowal and Rajiv Gandhi (the then PM) were trying to achieve."

The former DGP goes on to accuse the Zail-Buta duo and the Congress of politically promoting the family of Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in the post-Bluestar days. "...Like in 1978, when Bhindranwale was projected as counterfoil to the Akalis.. They (the Congress after the death of Bhindrawale in June 1984) zeroed in on his father Joginder Singh," Dhillon says. Later, Joginder Singh and his outfit, the United Akali Dal, was used to derail the April 30, 1985, meeting of Akalis at Anandpur Sahib which "Badal (Parkash Singh) described as the past, present and future of Punjab", says Dhillon.

Dhillon is equally harsh on Arjun Singh, who was the Governor of Punjab while the President's Rule was in place. "Before Arjun Singh arrived in March 1985, we were doing fairly well with militant violence markedly under control".

The former DGP then goes on to elaborate on the hand of the Centre in "managing Punjab". Arjun Singh wanted to install SS Barnala as the Chief Minister. "As it happened, Arjun Singh had a hand in selecting candidates for the legislative elections of September 1985, both for the Congress and the Akali parties ....It had to be ensured that the selection of Akali candidates was made in such a way that Barnala-not Badal-would emerge as the leader of Akalis since Arjun Singh found the former easier to manage".

He narrates another incident of October 1, 1984, when "200 extremists gathered in the Golden Temple and made seditious speeches...we later found out that this was the work of the Akali faction close to Zail Singh".