“Nehru committed blunder by implementing Article 370 in Kashmir…”: Amit Shah

Jodhpur (Rajasthan) [India], April 1 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru committed a blunder by implementing Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, adding that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who abrogated Article 370 and raised the Indian flag in Union Territory.

Addressing the public rally in Jodhpur, Amit Shah said, “PM Modi has fulfilled all the promises that we made since the foundation of the BJP. Former PM Jawaharlal Nehru committed a blunder by implementing Article 370 in Kashmir. PM Modi put an end to Article 370 on August 5, 2019, and raised the Indian flag in Kashmir.”

Amit Shah further said that Congress always ignored the issue of the Ram Temple and it was Prime Minister Modi who fulfilled the promise of a temple at Ram Janmbhoomi.

“For 70 years, the Congress party has diverted from the issue of the Ram Temple at ‘Ram Janmbhoomi’ but PM Modi has not only laid the foundation stone but also did the ‘Pran Pratistha’ on January 22,” he said.

Amit Shah is set to visit Karnataka on Tuesday. His day-long, busy schedule includes a roadshow.

Shah will address the Sakti Kendra Pramukh Sammelan at Palace Ground in Bengaluru on Tuesday morning.

The event is aimed at bolstering grassroots leadership and organizational strength ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

The BJP has fielded its candidates in 25 Lok Sabha constituencies and left three other seats for its ally JD (S) in the state.

Blaming Jawaharlal Nehru for Pakistan occupying part of Jammu and Kashmir which belongs to India, Amit Shah said that due to the “two blunders” of the former Prime Minister, Kashmir had to “suffer for years.”

While replying to a debate on the Jammu and Kashmir Reservation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha, Shah noted that Nehru made “two blunders”– declared a ceasefire without winning the entire Kashmir (during India-Pakistan war in 1948) and also took the Kashmir issue to the United Nations.

Shah asserted that if Nehru had taken the right steps, PoK would be an integral part of India today.

“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 blunders that happened during the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru, due to his decisions, because of which Kashmir had to suffer for 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.

During the debate, the Home Minister also said that the root cause of terrorism in the region was nothing but Article 370, which was abrogated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government in 2019.

“During the 1994-2004 period, a total of 40,164 incidents of terrorism were registered. During the 2004-2014 period, a total of 7,217 incidents of terrorism took place. During the 2014-2023 period, under the Narendra Modi government, the total incidents of terrorism registered have been around 2,000, which marks a 70 per cent reduction in the incidents of terrorism. That is why I was right in saying that the root cause of separatism, the root cause of terrorism was nothing but Article 370,” he said.

The Home Minister, during his address in the lower house, reaffirmed that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir is part of the country.

He said that the Delimitation Commission, set up by the Centre for the delimitation of asssembly and parliamentary constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir, has reserved 24 seats for PoK.

“The Delimitation (Commission) went everywhere in J-K. The representatives of several communities, including Kashmiri migrants and people displaced in PoK, had submitted applications to them regarding their representation in state assembly. I am happy that the commission has taken cognizance of this and the (then) Election Commissioner of India has nominated two seats in state assembly for Kashmiri migrants and one seat for a person displaced in PoK, which has been occupied unauthorizedly by Pakistan,” Shah said.

The general elections in Karnataka will be held in two phases on April 26 and May 7 for 28 constituencies.