New Delhi: Calling Article 370, which gives special status to Jammu and Kashmir, the “gravest blunder” in post-Independence India, Union Minister Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha today said, the only unfinished task is to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Participating in the debate on Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill Mr Singh claimed Article 370 was miscarriage of justice. The time for redemption has come after 70 years, he said.
Jitendra Singh who is the minister from Jammu’s Udhampur said, “Kashmir was never an issue” and the only issue that needs addressing is Pakistan Occupied Kashmir or PoK. He added, “The next task is how to make Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) part of India.” His statement was welcomed with the thumping of desks in the lower house.
Mr Singh blamed Jawahar Lal Nehru for Article 370. When the Indian forces were driving out Pakistani intruders in the 1948 war, Jawahar Lal Nehru went to All India Radio and declared a unilateral ceasefire, he said.
NDTV quoted him as saying, “If he had not done so, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir would have been part of India.”