Read Nehru-Patel correspondence: Kharge to Modi on PM's remarks on Kashmir's accession

New Delhi, Nov 1 (PTI) Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge countered Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday over his claim that Jawaharlal Nehru was not in favour of Kashmir's accession to India and challenged him to read the correspondence between Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on the issue, and review the Constituent Assembly discussions of the time.

In a long post in Hindi on X, Kharge also alleged that it was the leaders of the Hindu Mahasabha and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later, the Jan Sangh, who made statements that Kashmir should be declared an independent country.

Modi launched a sharp attack on Nehru, the country's first prime minister, on Friday, claiming that he prevented Patel from fully integrating Kashmir into the Indian Union.

Addressing the national celebrations in Gujarat's Ekta Nagar to mark Patel's 150th birth anniversary, Modi said the subsequent "mistake" on Kashmir, resulting from Nehru's wish not being fulfilled, led to decades of turmoil and bloodshed in the region.

Countering Modi, Kharge claimed that Vinayak Damodar Savarkar and M S Golwalkar were both guests of Kashmir's Maharaja Hari Singh, and the Hindu Mahasabha had announced its support for an independent Kashmir, instead of its accession to India.

"Prime Minister Narendra Modiji's statement that Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru did not want Kashmir's accession to India is utterly false and reprehensible," Kharge said in his post.

He claimed that during the process of Jammu and Kashmir's accession, Nehru was in touch with Sheikh Abdullah, while Patel was in contact with Hari Singh, and they were persuading the two Kashmiri leaders that integration with India was in the interest of the people of the region.

Kharge also claimed that Patel's private secretary, V Shankar, who himself had supported the former during the negotiations for Jammu and Kashmir's accession, compiled a book of correspondence between Patel and other leaders, titled "Selected Correspondence of Sardar Patel".

"In the first volume of this book, V Shankar clearly wrote that both Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel were equally interested in the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India. The book itself contains a compilation of at least 50 letters regarding the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India. If Pandit Nehru had not been involved in the process of Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India, would there have been so much correspondence between Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru during that time?" he asked.

The Congress chief also claimed that about a month before the tribal invasion in Jammu and Kashmir in the last week of October 1947, Nehru wrote a letter to Patel on September 27, explicitly stating that Pakistan was planning to attack the region in the guise of tribesmen.

"In this letter, Pandit Nehru detailed Pakistan's conspiracy and strategy. Pandit Nehru also said that fighting in Jammu and Kashmir would become difficult after the onset of winter, so the accession of the state to India should be expedited immediately.

"Immediately after this letter, on October 2, 1947, Sardar Patel wrote to the maharaja of Jammu Kashmir, urging him to accede to India as soon as possible," Kharge claimed.

He said on October 5, 1947, Nehru once again emphasised to Patel the urgent need for Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India.

"Unfortunately, despite the persuasions of Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel, the maharaja of Jammu Kashmir could not take an immediate decision and before the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India could take place, Pakistan launched the tribal invasion," he said.

Kharge said Shankar clearly wrote that getting Jammu and Kashmir to accede to India was one of Patel's achievements through Article 370 of the Constitution.

"It was through Article 370 that Pandit Nehru and Sardar Patel built a bridge between Jammu and Kashmir and India. There was such deep closeness between Nehruji and Sardar Patel that on the day Article 370 was passed in the Constituent Assembly, Pandit Nehru was in the US and Sardar Patel had it passed in the Constituent Assembly under his own direction.

"Defying international pressure, Pandit Nehru ensured Kashmir's accession to India. Pandit Nehru had also clarified in the Constituent Assembly that not only for cultural reasons, but also considering the international scenario -- since Jammu and Kashmir shares borders with several countries -- the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to the Indian Union was the most beneficial option," Kharge said.

He also claimed that in the book, "Poornahuti", written by Mahatma Gandhi's private secretary Pyarelal, it is mentioned that Mohammad Ali Jinnah used to say that as long as Nehru was India's prime minister and Sheikh Abdullah was the leader of the Kashmiri people, the people of Kashmir could never support Pakistan under any circumstances.

"Narendra Modiji, I challenge you to read the correspondence between Sardar Patel and Pandit Nehru from that time, and review the discussions that took place in the Constituent Assembly at that time.

"You will also learn that Balraj Madhok, a prominent leader associated with the Hindu Mahasabha, RSS and later, the Jan Sangh, openly stated that they wanted to make Kashmir an independent nation," he claimed.

"Savarkar and Golwalkar were both guests of Maharaja Hari Singh, and as early as February 1947, the Hindu Mahasabha had announced its support for an independent Kashmir instead of its accession to India. Around the time of August 15, 1947, the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha had hoisted the maharaja's flag in place of the Indian tricolour," the Congress chief claimed. PTI SKC RC