The Bharatiya Janata Party has ramped up its criticism of India’s first Prime Minister and Congress leader Jawaharlal Nehru following the Supreme Court’s validation for its decision to scrap special status for the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir through the abrogation of Article 370 of the Constitution of India.

Doubling down on his attack against the former PM, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Nehru erred by delaying the accession of Jammu and Kashmir and declaring a ceasefire during the war with Pakistan in 1947 just before the Indian Army was close to gaining control over the entire Kashmir. Shah also slammed Nehru’s decision to take the issue to the United Nations.

नेहरु जी ने खुद माना कि उनसे गलती हुई… pic.twitter.com/Ko4FumqLGU

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 11, 2023

On Monday, Shah also built on his attack in the Lok Sabha and quoted Nehru’s statements on record to drive home his point more aggressively. Nehru, Shah claimed, had admitted that he erred in going to the United Nations and declaring a ceasefire with Pakistan.

After the experience of the United Nations, I have concluded that one cannot expect a satisfactory outcome from there. I thought the decision to declare a ceasefire was good but we could not make the right decision or assessment. In retrospect, we should have deliberated more before reaching the ceasefire decision, although these are past mistakes,” Shah said, quoting Nehru’s statement on record. Shah’s remark came after Congress MP Digvijaya Singh challenged Shah to authenticate his allegations of “blunders” in Kashmir against Nehru.

हमारी सेना जीत रही थी। अगर नेहरु जी दो दिन और रुक जाते और सीजफायर नहीं करते तो आज पूरा कश्मीर हमारा होता। pic.twitter.com/UKZNJbzA3r

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 11, 2023

Meanwhile, the two Jammu and Kashmir Bills that seek to provide 9 seats for Scheduled Tribes in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly and seeking to provide for the nomination of 2 members from the Kashmiri migrant and PoK-displaced communities, were passed in the Rajya Sabha following a walkout by the Opposition during Shah’s reply to the debate.

Justifying his attack on Nehru, Shah said that the government’s view on Nehru’s handling of the Kashmir issue was adverse since it could not tolerate ceding an inch of the country’s land to another nation. Referring to the smooth accession of princely states like Junagarh, Hyderabad and Lakshadweep handled by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Shah said that the accession of Jammu and Kashmir “handled by one person” led to a delay due to the insistence of the Maharaja to accommodate the concerns of Sheikh Abdullah.

550 से ज्यादा रियासतों का भारत में विलय हुआ, कहीं भी धारा 370 नहीं लगी।सिर्फ जम्मू-कश्मीर नेहरू जी देख रहे थे, तो वहीं क्यों लगी? pic.twitter.com/IJ2UeLmDSR

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) December 11, 2023

Shah further claimed that it was only at the insistence of Sardar Patel that the Indian Army was deployed during the 1947 war with Pakistan. An untimely, ceasefire, Shah reiterated, deprived India of gaining full control over Kashmir. “Had there been no untimely ceasefire, PoK would not have existed,” he said.