The BJP on Thursday asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi corrected the "blunders" of country’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru on the Kashmir accession to India by nullifying Article 370 and demanded an apology from the Congress. The Opposition party sought to know the BJP’s “achievements” in the last eight years in Kashmir where it said the Government was not able to hold elections and “stop targeted killings”.
Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said that a “historical lie” was being dished-out that Kashmir too was one of the princely states which created problems and the ‘Raja’ of Kashmir Hari Singh was “dilly-dallying on joining India.
Rijiju alleged in an article penned by him that it was Nehru’s insistence on taking “popular approval” that botched the smooth accession of Kashmir to India.
“Two princely states created problems – Hyderabad and Junagarh. But Sardar Patel out-manoeuvred them both, using his exemplary skills of persuasion, tact and willingness to use force if required,” said the BJP leader.
“As documents now reveal, it was Nehru who, in order to fulfil his personal agenda, created these problems and not the Maharaja. In a speech delivered in Lok Sabha on July 24, 1952, Nehru himself conceded the facts. Maharaja Hari Singh, like all other princely states wanting to join India, had approached Indian leadership in July 1947 itself for accession
“The First Nehruvian Blunder on Kashmir, in a series of blunders, is revealed as a clincher in the same speech. Nehru states: “the advice we gave to both was that Kashmir is a special case and it would not be right or proper to try to rush things there”.
Rijiju further goes on to say “but what is it that Nehru wanted? Who better than Nehru himself to answer? In the same 1952 speech, he further states: “even if the Maharaja and his Government then wanted to accede to India, we would like something much more, that is, popular approval”.
The BJP leader said that there was no requirement to seek popular approval of the people of princely states as per the Indian Independence Act.
Asked about Rijiju's article titled '75th Anniversary of Five Nehruvian Blunders on Kashmir', Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said those leaders of the BJP who are students of "WhatsApp nursery" need to revisit their history classes.
Khera said the BJP leaders have no idea of contemporary history of the country.
“It is very easy to blame Jawaharlal Nehru for this, Indira Gandhi for something else, PV Narasimha Rao for something else and Manmohan Singh for the rest” , Khera said.
"Give us answers. You have been in power for eight years. What has been your achievement in those years in Jammu and Kashmir? You cannot hold elections. You cannot protect Kashmiri Pandits. Is that your achievement? You must apologise for what happened in 1989, you must apologise for what is happening now," he said, attacking the BJP-led Centre.
"If all that they are saying is true, how is it that during the Manmohan Singh era targeted killings stopped and 75 per cent of the people would participate in the democratic process of elections in the state? We would be happy to get the answer to that," he said.
BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia also attacked Nehru at a press conference alleging that the first prime minister committed five blunders, including delaying action on the accession proposal of the region's king Hari Singh.
Jammu and Kashmir, and the country in general had to pay a price for it while this allowed Pakistan to capture a part of the region (Pakistan-occupied Kashmir), he said.
Nehru then took an "internal issue" to the United Nations, making Pakistan a party, he added.
Modi has corrected those blunders, and his strong leadership is now showing the way to the world, he said.