J&K: BJP takes potshot at Congress after PCC chief seeks review of Indus Water Treaty

Jammu, Feb 21 (PTI) The BJP unit of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday came down heavy on the Congress after its leader Tariq Hameed Karra advocated a review of the Indus Water Treaty between India and Pakistan, saying his remarks tantamount to tacit acknowledgement of “Nehru’s blunder” in signing the agreement.

The BJP also demanded the Congress and its leader Rahul Gandhi to apologise for the “biggest blunder” in India’s history.

J-K Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Tariq Hameed Karra on Thursday demanded a review of the Indus Water Treaty (IWT), saying the people of the region have suffered the most due to the agreement.

India and Pakistan signed the IWT in 1960 after nine years of negotiations, with the World Bank being a signatory of the pact which sets out a mechanism for cooperation and information exchange between the two sides on the use of waters of a number of cross-border rivers in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Karra’s statement is an acknowledgement that former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru committed a grave mistake by signing the IWT,” senior BJP leader Abhijeet Jasrotia told a press conference at the party headquarters here.

Criticising the Congress and its leadership for the “historical blunders” related to the IWT, Jasrotia said it failed to address the inequities of the pact by not revisiting the treaty during subsequent governments.