After Union Law Minister Kiren Rijiju wrote an editorial for Republic on ‘October 27th – 75th Anniversary Of Nehru’s Blunders Bleeding India’, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attacked Congress and former Prime Minister Nehru saying that personal ambitions were given priority over national interest.

Addressing a press briefing on Kiren Rijiju’s editorial, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia said, “India’s first PM late Jawaharlal Nehru made 5 big mistakes whose cost India, its citizens and the people of Kashmir had to pay… India under PM Modi is leading the world in a new direction. But a democracy even if it’s strong, self-analyses itself and learns from its past mistakes.”

“When Kashmir ruler Hari Singh wrote in July (1947) that they want to sign Instrument of Accession… these were the words of Nehru- ‘the question of accession came up before us informally around about July or middle about July’. Giving priority to his own personal ambitions shows how he pushed national interest aside,” Bhatia said indicating a delay in Nehru’s action.

‘There would have been no PoK issue, if…’: BJP

Further, the BJP leader stated, “Everybody knows about his friendship with Sheikh Abdullah. He kept his friendship in a way that the country saw an invasion by Pakistan. We saw the unauthorised occupation of Pakistan on the land of India. So, if he had taken a decision at a time, there would have been no PoK issue.”

“We saw how India placed its points at the United Nations. But it was a mistake. What was our internal matter, Jawaharlal Nehru took it to the United Nations and created a locus for Pakistan,” Gaurav Bhatia added.

“When Pakistan invaded (Kashmir), Hari Singh asked for help from India, but it’s painful that Nehru Ji said, ‘I suggested to you the urgency of taking some steps like the formation of a provisional government. Sheikh Abdullah, who is the most popular person in Kashmir, might be asked to form such a government.’ He did not keep the country’s integrity in mind but his personal ambition and friendship,” the BJP leader said.

‘PM Modi corrected Nehru’s historic mistake’

Gaurav Bhatia also quoted Nehru from the time when the late Prime Minister spoke in Lok Sabha in 1952. “He said, ‘I remember it must have been 27th of October. After practically and all day sitting in the evening, we came to the conclusion that in spite of all the risks and dangers involved, we could not say no to the appeal’. Appeal that was made by the then ruler agreeing to sign the instrument of accession which was delayed by Jawaharlal Nehru,” Bhatia said.

“One more historical mistake made by him (Nehru) was historically corrected by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he abrogated Article 370… They wanted to do communal politics, and appeasement politics, that’s why they failed to collect the courage to end the temporary provision,” he said.

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