New Delhi: BJP chief J P Nadda on Monday said the Indus Water Treaty was one of the biggest blunders and by putting it in abeyance, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has corrected yet another grave “historical wrong”.
Nadda referred to the 1960 treaty as “Nehru’s Himalayan blunder” and alleged that it permanently compromised India’s water security and national interest.
“The Indus Water Treaty, 1960, was one of the biggest blunders of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru that kept national interest at the altar of personal ambitions. The nation must know that when former prime minister Pandit Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, he unilaterally handed over 80 per cent of the Indus basin waters to Pakistan, leaving India with just 20 per cent of the share.
“It was a decision that permanently compromised India’s water security and national interest. The most appalling aspect was that he did it without consulting the Indian Parliament.
“The treaty was signed in September 1960. However, it was placed before Parliament only two months later, in November, and, that too, for a token discussion of mere two hours!” he said in a post on X.
The BJP leader said the treaty was such a “monumental blunder” that even Pandit Nehru’s party MPs vehemently opposed it.
“He yielded far too much, receiving nothing in return. Congress’ Asoka Mehta slammed the treaty and called it akin to a ‘second partition’ for the country. His words expressed the grief and shock felt not only within his own party but also across the opposition and the nation at Nehru’s complete surrender.
“Even today, India would have continued to pay the price for one man’s misplaced idealism, if not for Prime Minister Modi’s bold leadership and his commitment to ‘Nation First’. By putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, PM Modi has corrected yet another grave historical wrong committed by Congress!” he said.
Nadda said a young MP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tore into Nehru’s Indus Water Treaty. Vajpayee warned that Nehru’s argument, that succumbing to Pakistan’s unreasonable demands would establish friendship and goodwill, was flawed, the BJP chief said. Vajpayee argued that true friendship cannot be built on injustice. If opposing Pakistan’s unfair demands led to strained relations, then so be it, Nadda said, quoting Vajpayee.
“Such was the clarity with which Atal ji placed India’s national interest above everything else… He (Nehru) even admitted that he had decided without bothering about parliamentary approval in matters of international treaties that handed away India’s critical resources. To add insult to injury, he derided the opinions of fellow parliamentarians who spoke for the national interest as being too ‘narrow’,” he said.
