Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 6: Reviving the BJP’s line of blaming the first prime minister for the present state of affairs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday that J&K had suffered due to “two blunders” committed by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Had Jawaharlal Nehru taken right steps, PoK would have been part of India now. It was a historic blunder,” Mr Shah said while replying to the debate in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday on two bills on Jammu and Kashmir.
The Lok Sabha later passed the two bills, Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to nominate two members from the Kashmiri migrant community and one representing the displaced persons from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) to the legislative assembly. The House also passed the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to change the nomenclature of a section of people who are eligible for quota in appointment and admission.
The bills were passed after more than six hours of debate spanning over two days and a spirited reply by Amit Shah. He counted the two blunders of Nehru as the premature order of ceasefire when the Indian army was winning and taking the Kashmir affairs to the United Nations. He blamed Nehru’s “two major blunders” for the sufferings of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Shah said if Mr 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. “I support the word that was used here — Nehruvian blunder. Because of the blunder that was committed during the time of Nehru, Kashmir had to suffer. With responsibility, I want to say that the two big blunders that happened during the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, happened due to his decisions, because of which Kashmir had to suffer for years,” Mr Shah said.
“Kashmir had to suffer due to Nehruvian blunders. One was that when our Army was winning and as soon as Punjab area was reached, ceasefire was declared and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was born. If the ceasefire would have been (declared) three days later, PoK would have been part of India,” the home minister said.
The ceasefire made without winning the entire Kashmir was one “blunder” and the other was taking the issue to the UN. There was an uproar by the opposition benches over the remarks on Mr Nehru and they staged a walkout but returned later. An agitated opposition benches also demanded a full-day discussion on Nehruvian policy on Jammu and Kashmir to dispel the “wrong notions” the ruling party held over the situation prevailing then.
Mr Shah 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.
The home minister said the two bills related to Jammu and Kashmir brought by the government would give justice to those deprived of their rights for the last 70 years and asserted that reservation to the displaced people will give them a voice in the legislature. The home minister said a plan to have zero terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir has been in force for the last three years and it will be successful by 2026 when there will be no violence.
Talking about the abrogation of Article 370, Mr Shah said it had nothing to do with going back on promise as it was a temporary article and had to go. “You did not have the courage, PM Narendra Modi showed courage and did away with it,” he said, referring to the opposition benches.
More than 45,000 people have lost their lives due to terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir so far, he said. Mr Shah said the government’s focus was on ending the terror ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir. He said a plan to have zero terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir is in force for three years and it will be successful by 2026.
“I believe Modi government will return to power in 2024 and by 2026, I hope there will be no terror incident in Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.