Modi blasts Congress leadership, holds Nehru responsible for partition of Kashmir

In an address to Indian parliament, Modi lashes out at political opponents, accuses INC of going soft on Pakistan

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that India was divided because of the policies of the Indian National Congress (INC), and if Vallabhbhai Patel had been the premier instead of Jawaharlal Nehru back in 1947, the whole of Kashmir would now be a part of India, Express News reported.

In an address to the Indian parliament on Wednesday, Modi lashed out at his political opponents, accusing the INC of going soft on Pakistan.

"Not a day goes by when the Indian nation does not reap the consequences of the poisonous seeds sown by Congress on partition. If Sardar Patel was the PM instead of Nehru, the whole of Kashmir would be a part of India. Pakistan would not even have even a single portion," he said in his remarks.



The premier stressed that the INC had been consistently pursuing the wrong policies ever since partition, and instead of working for the welfare of the people, it had concentrated on singing the praises of a single family.

"INC wasted its whole energy for the service of the Gandhi family. It agreed to the division of the sub-continent 70 years ago merely for selfish, political reasons," Modi stated.

Modi noted that almost 200 million people in India were still in need of a basic utility like electricity, and the government was nowhere near solving the problem.



"India was denied genuine democracy because of Jawaharlal Nehru, when democracy has existed here for centuries," Modi added.

Opposition lawmakers chanted 'stop spreading lies' during the speech, and also created a ruckus, in an attempt to halt proceedings.

INC chief Rahul Gandhi, responding to the Modi accusations, commented about the premier's failure to address corrupt practices within his party.

"Why is Modi silent on the corruption of government officials in the purchase of defence airplanes?" he asked.