"Friend First, India Second" Kiren Rijiju's latest attack on Nehru on his birth anniversary

New Delhi: Union Minister Kiren Rijiju raked up the issue of "Nehru's five blunders" on the former Prime Minister's birth anniversary and alleged that "Friend First, India Second" defined India's first PM's initial Kashmir policy in 1947 leading to "tragic consequences".
In a tweet on Monday morning, the Union Minister attacked Jawaharlal Nehru over the issue of Kashmir. This comes days after he penned an article '75th Anniversary of 5 Nehruvian Blunders on Kashmir' on the anniversary of the accession of Jammu and Kashmir (October 27) in India in 1947.
"What really happened? Why did Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru delay the accession of Kashmir into India and thereby give Pakistan an opportunity to invade it? ...The real story behind Nehru's "Panch-Bhool" or 5 Blunders on Kashmir," Rijiju tweeted.
Alleging that Nehru "rejected" Maharaja Hari Singh's plea to accede to India thrice, the Union Minister said that the former Prime Minister's initial Kashmir policy was defined by "Friend First, India Second".
"Nehru rejected Maharaja Hari Singh's plea to accede to India not just once but thrice. "Friend First, India Second" is what defined Nehru's initial Kashmir policy in 1947. It led to tragic consequences for which India paid a price for seven decades," Rijiju tweeted.
Earlier on October 27, Rijiju while speaking to ANI, charged the first Prime Minister of independent India Jawaharlal Nehru with committing "five blunders" in regard to Kashmir which he alleged "claimed unaccounted lives", while also stating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is setting right the mistakes of the past.
Rijiju alleged that due to the mistakes of the then Prime Minister Nehru, Kashmir has "unnecessarily become an issue" and said that it is "important to take out the fault" and set a "correct narrative".
Speaking to ANI, Rijiju said, "Dr Ambedkar had rightly said, those who forget their history cannot create history. So it is important that we realise the mistakes. What our first Prime Minister Nehru did with Kashmir has caused so much tragedy. It has drained the national wealth. It has taken away the unaccounted lives of the jawans and the civilians. And, because of that blunder, today, Kashmir has unnecessarily become an issue. It is important that we take out the fault and build on that and set a correct narrative. The blunders committed by Nehru have been undone and corrected by PM Modi."
"That is why I thought today is a perfect anniversary, the perfect occasion to bring out the truth in front of the people of the country. What I have done is simply to take the facts before the nation. Whatever Nehru ji had said in the Parliament, whatever he had stated in our constituent assembly, and whatever he did, all are part of the documents and these documents are something which the country must know," he added.
Elaborating on the "blunders", Rijiju said that it is all interconnected as all of them are linked to Kashmir, half part of which is under the possession of Pakistan.
"When it comes to history, I cannot change history. I cannot tweak history. That is why I have stated that the blunders committed by Nehru Ji have been undone by Modi Ji. Nobody can take Kashmir from India, but it is disappointing that half of Kashmir is captured by Pakistan and some parts of it have been given to China by Pakistan," he said.
Detailing the essence of his article which revolved around Kashmir, the Law Minister said that Nehru converted the "domestic issue into an international one" by taking it to the United Nations.
"Maharaja Hari Singh wanted to join India, but Nehru stopped him. We cannot call it a small mistake. When the Pakistanis attacked Kashmir, even then Nehru did not help. Can we call the imposition of temporary provision of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir a small mistake? Can we also call it a small mistake that he converted the domestic issue to an international issue by taking the Kashmir issue to United Nations? These are the five blunders that we are paying the price for even today," he said.
"All these issues all five issues are vital, and big blunders that is why I cannot compare which particular issue is bigger or smaller, all are critical, and it led to the tragedy," Rijiju added while stating that PM Modi has started the process of making things right and there will be peace in Kashmir in future. (ANI)