Amit Shah lashes out at Congress on Kashmir issue, blames Nehru for crisis in State

In heated debate in Parliament on extending President’s rule in Jammu and Kashmir, Home Minister Amit Shah blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for the partition of India and the historical blunders that saw the rise of terrorism in the border State.

Amid protest from the Opposition, the Home Minister took on Manish Tewari who had earlier blamed the ruling BJP for the “dangerous” situation prevailing in Kashmir and “feeling of alienation” among the people. “Manish ji talked about history. So I have to talk about it, too. He talked about the partition. Who supported it? We didn’t. The country should not have been divided on the basis of religion. This was not our mistake but yours. You cannot run away from history. Whose fault it is it that one-third of Kashmir is not with us? When Maharaja Hari Singh signed the instrument of accession and our army had driven out the Pakistan-sponsored tribals, who called for a ceasefire? It was the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. He gave that territory to Pakistan. And you now accuse us?” said Shah.

Amid protest from the Congress and interventions by Speaker Om Birla, the Home Minister continued. “Had Jawaharlal Nehru trusted the then Home Minister Sardar Patel, we would not have seen the situation exacerbate to this extent. Sardar Patel tackled Hyderabad and Junagarh and no such problem arose. He tackled 630 other States and none of them has Article 370. But who was tackling J&K? Your mistake has cost the country heavily. Thousands of people have lost their lives,” said Shah.

Before him, Manish Tewari had blamed the Centre for the deterioration of law and order in Kashmir and questioned the continuation of President’s rule. He said the Congress is not opposed to a hard policy on terrorism and it has, in Kashmir as well as in Punjab, tackled terrorism successfully.

Cong flays BJP-PDP tie up

“When we quit in 2014 and the NDA came to power, normalcy had already been restored in the State by then. But after the 2015 elections, an alliance of ideologically incompatible parties — the BJP and the People’s Democratic Party — took over. If now we have to impose President’s rule for so long, the roots of this problem lie in the year 2015, when the BJP-PDP formed the government in Jammu and Kashmir. We are not opposed to the government’s strict measures to eradicate terrorism. I am also a victim as my father was killed by terrorists. But please remember, the fight against terrorism will succeed only when people are with you. We need to have a strong government in the State. If we can hold Lok Sabha elections, then why weren’t Assembly elections held in the State? Why is the President’s rule being extended?” said the Congress MP.

Responding to him, Shah said it is not the BJP but the Congress which has sown the seeds of distrust among people of Kashmir by continually holding farcical elections and dismissing popular governments.

“The trust was broken when Sheikh Abdullah had to be imprisoned. Elections were held in 1957, 1962 and also in 1967. The polls were a farce as the people of J&K were not allowed to participate. We were not in power then,” said Shah.

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