Ram Madhav
Endorsing Home Minister Amit Shah’s statement, Ram Madhav, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national general secretary on Saturday said, “Problem in Kashmir is the creation of policies of 1st govt of independent India under Nehru.”
“Whatever Amit Shah said yesterday in Parliament is historical truth. The problem in Kashmir is due to the policies of the 1st government of independent India under Nehru ji. It gave birth to the demand of separate status for J&K. Congress must own responsibility for trouble in J&K,” ANI quoted Ram Madhav as saying.
Commenting on Congress blaming BJP-PDP alliance for the situation in Kashmir, Madhav said, “BJP alliance was in power for 2.5 years, it's Congress which through its alliances or through its proxies ruled states for decades and it was they who were responsible for every trouble you see in Kashmir today.”
He also stressed that “Article 370 should be removed.”
“As far as Article 370 is concerned, our ideological commitment is well known. Article 370 should be removed. We are against it since the beginning. Govt will take a suitable step to remove Article 370 at the appropriate time,” he said.
"Article 370 has to go lock, stock and barrel, as Home Minister clearly mentioned yesterday. When it was introduced the then PM Nehru had himself said it is a temporary position, it will erode on its own. Even Nehru wanted it to go," he added.
On Friday, Shah blamed former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru for the political problems and terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Shah also asserted in the Lok Sabha that Article 370 of the Constitution granting special status to the state is "temporary in nature" and "not permanent".
As Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament, gave its nod to extend President's Rule in J&K for another six months (beginning July 3), home minister also said Assembly polls in the border state will be held in a free, fair and democratic manner once the Election Commission of India (ECI) announces the schedule.
WATCH VIDEO: 'Nehru Created Kashmir Problem': Amit Shah Attacks Congress in Lok Sabha
