New Delhi: Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made "two major blunders" due to which Kashmir residents suffered for years. He said declaring a ceasefire without winning the entire Kashmir was the first mistake and the second was taking the issue to the United Nations.
He made the comments while replying to a debate in the Lok Sabha on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
"Two mistakes that happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru due to which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first is to declare a ceasefire - when our army was winning, the ceasefire was imposed. If there had been a ceasefire after three days, PoK would have been a part of India today... The second is to take our internal issue to the UN, " Shah said.
Shah said that if Nehru had taken the right steps, a large chunk of territory would not have been ceded and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been part of India, reported PTI.
He also alleged that the Kashmir matter was taken to the UN in a hurry.
"If at all it had to be taken to the UN, it should have been sent under Article 51 rather than Article 35 of the UN Charter," he said, asserting that he of course believes that the issue should not have been taken to the UN in the first place.
I.N.D.I.A Leaders React To Shah's Remark
Following Shah's statement, the opposition leaders staged a walkout but returned later.
Congress MP Pramod Tiwari said, "Back then, our Army didn't have planes and tanks. The most difficult was to cross the rivers and streams. Leave just three days, it would have taken quite a long time."
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi questioned Shah if the BJP came to power to create history or to talk about the history.
Hitting out at the Home Minister, Congress MP Shakti Singh Gohil said that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru, and Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar are the country's great leaders and any comments made against them will be treated as an insult to them.
"Be it Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Nehru ji or Baba Saheb Bhimrao Ambedkar, the great leaders of our country fought against the British. The comments made on Nehru ji and Sardar Patel are an insult to them. This kind of politics is not good for the country," he said.
Defending Nehru's both decisions, former J&K CM and National Conference President Farooq Abdullah said, "At that time, the army was diverted to save Poonch and Rajouri. If it had not been done, Poonch and Rajouri would have also gone to Pakistan...There was no other way than this, Lord Mountbatten and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had also suggested that this should go to the United Nations."
Meanwhile, Independent MP Navneet Rana said, "Amit Shah did not call Jawaharlal Nehru wrong in his remarks, he just quoted Nehru himself accepting his mistake."
The Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill and the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.