Amritsar, June 7 -- On the 41st anniversary of Operation Bluestar, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state general secretary and former IAS officer Jagmohan Singh Raju wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to release Sikh prisoners on humanitarian grounds.

Sharing the letter on his Facebook page, Raju said, "Release Sikh prisoners on humanitarian grounds - put final lid on the Dark Era of 1980s in Punjab (sic)."

In the letter penned in Hindi, he wrote: "Today, June 6, is the day of pain and anger for the Sikh Panth. On this day in 1984, as you uttered in the Parliament, an attack was launched on the highest temporal seat of Sikhs, Akal Takht. You are the first Prime Minister who officially recognised this as an attack on the Akal...