Nehru made Kashmir issue controversial, says Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Yogi Adityanath on Monday blamed Jawaharlal Nehru for the extremism and separatism “emanating from Kashmir”, and alleged that the first prime minister of India made the issue so “controversial” that it continues to sting the country even now.

Addressing an event on the 75th death anniversary of the country’s first home minister, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, he referred to the integration of over 560 princely states into the Union of India and pointed to Junagadh and Hyderabad, which were prickly thorns in the process.

“All the Hindu princely states of India agreed to become a part of the Republic of India, but the Nawab of Junagadh and the Nizam of Hyderabad refused. Both had to be integrated into India. Through a bloodless revolution, solely due to Sardar Patel’s wisdom, these two princely states became a part of India,” Adityanath said.

He went on to say that there was uncertainty about the fate of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. “So, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru took the matter into his own hands. He made Jammu and Kashmir so controversial that it continued to sting India even after Independence. The country got extremism (‘ugravaad’) and separatism (‘algaavaad’) from Kashmir because of Pandit Nehru,” the Uttar Pradesh chief minister claimed.

He added that the country is grateful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, by fulfilling the dreams of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Syama Prasad Mookerjee, has abolished Article 370 in Kashmir, making it an integral part of India, while taking forward the resolve of one country, one constitution, and one flag.

“There were 567 princely states at the time of Independence, and they were integrated into the Republic of India. The country will always remember Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as its architect. This is his creation,” the chief minister said.