J&K’s Opposition parties react over Amit Shah’s remarks on Nehruvian blunders

Mubashir Aalam Wani

Srinagar, Dec 07: The opposition political parties in Jammu and Kashmir including Congress on Thursday repulsed back to the Union Home Minister Amit Shah over his remarks against the Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, claiming that Kashmir has suffered due to his blunders.

Congress Working Committee (CWC) member and former J&K Pradesh Congress Committee (JKPCC) president, Ghulam Ahmad Mir told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) that Amit Shah and his party Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reached this stage after reading the negative part of the country.

“BJP has never been part of independence, not even shared their bit in this regard, they don’t even know how the country has emerged, how things have been done,” he said.

“It is because of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that Kashmir is the part of India,” he said, adding that Congress has never taken their statements seriously as they only mislead people by distorting the facts.

National Conference (NC) President and Member of Parliament Dr Farooq Abdullah while speaking to media persons in New Delhi, said Rajouri and Poonch wouldn’t have been part of India today in case Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru would have focused on Muzaffarabad, adding that the forces were diverted to secure Rajouri and Poonch.

“Pt Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision has secured Rajouri and Poonch at that time as the situation was quite different then. There was no other solution than going to the United Nations as everybody at the time was in favour of it,” he said.

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) spokesman, Najam-us-Saqib, stated that it is completely wrong and unfortunate to blame someone for the crisis Kashmir has faced. “Blaming Pt Jawahar lal Nehru is completely dishonest; he was a tall leader, who laid a foundation of a secular democratic India,” Najam said.

He added that given the situation at that time, J&K needed a different kind of approach as it was a Muslim majority state and ruled by a Hindu ruler. “Nehru played a pivotal role in convincing the leaders here to join with the Union of India,” he said, adding that the people of J&K had been subjugated from everywhere, but Pt Nehru came and tried to free the inhabitants here from the clutches of subjugation.

Apni Party (AP) leaders, however, seconded the union home minister Amit Shah over his remarks, saying that whatever people of Kashmir have faced so far, is because of the Congress and Abdullahs.

AP Chief Spokesman, Javid Beigh, said that it is a fact that the people are facing the brunt of their (Congress and Abdullahs) wrong doings.

Pertinently, Union home minister Amit Shah, during discussions on the J&K Reservation Amendment Bill and J&K Reorganisation Amendment Bill in the lower house on Wednesday, highlighted "two big mistakes" made by the late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

According to Shah, these mistakes were responsible for the prolonged suffering of Jammu & Kashmir. Shah stated, "Two mistakes happened due to the decision of (former PM) Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru after which Kashmir had to suffer for many years. The first was to declare a ceasefire when our Army was winning. If there had been a ceasefire after three days, PoK would have been a part of India today… The second was to take our internal issue to the UN."

Referring to this as a "historic blunder," Shah expressed the belief that if Nehru had taken the right steps, PoK would be an integral part of India today. While addressing the lower house, Shah also attributed the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the region to the actions of past governments in the erstwhile state—(KNO)