New Delhi: Union home minister Amit Shah on Sunday said India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s decision to approach the United Nations over Kashmir was a “Himalayan blunder”.
The home minister faulted the nation’s first PM for approaching the UN in 1948 on the Kashmir issue. “In 1948, India went to the United Nations. That was a Himalayan blunder. It is more than a Himalayan blunder,” he said at a function organised by Samkalp Former Civil Servants Forum at Nehru Memorial Museum and Library (NMML) here. The minister also accused the Opposition of spreading “misinformation” about restrictions in the Valley. “Where are the restrictions? It is only in your mind. There are no restrictions. Only misinformation about restrictions is being spread.”
The minister said there were no restrictions in the Valley now and the entire world had supported the move to abrogate J&K’s special status under Article 370. Mr Shah said Jammu and Kashmir will be the most developed region in the country in the next 10 years because of the bold step taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 5.
Referring to the recent UN General Assembly session, Mr Shah said all world leaders supported India’s move on Article 370. “All world leaders had gathered for seven days (in New York). Not a single leader has raised the issue (of Jammu and Kashmir). This is a big diplomatic victory of the Prime Minister,” he said.
“But people are trying to a create hue and cry over the lack of mobile connections for a few days. Lack of phone connections is not a human rights violation,” he said. Mr Shah also said 10,000 new landline connections were given in J&K while 6,000 PCOs had come up in the last two months. “The decision on Article 370 will strengthen the unity and integrity of India,” he said, adding that the situation in J&K N will be completely normal soon.
“I want to tell you because of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir has not been fully integrated into India. Because of Article 370, corruption has flourished there,” he said. The home minister added that because of Article 370, “people always had to say ‘Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India’. We don’t have to say so when we talk about Karnataka, West Bengal, Gujarat or Delhi.” He said Article 370 had been an issue for the erstwhile Jan Sangh and then the BJP from the beginning.
