Key Points

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned Jawaharlal Nehru's name 14 times during his speech on 'Operation Sindoor' in the Lok Sabha. It is very strange, where did he drag Pandit Nehru into it."

Nath made these remarks in Bhopal upon reaching the Assembly to attend the third day of the Monsoon session.

The veteran Congress leader, who previously served as a Union Minister and headed several ministries during former Prime Minister late Manmohan Singh-led UPA government, made these remarks responding to PM Modi's fierce attack at the INDIA bloc, especially the Congress, during his speech on the Pahalgam terror attack and 'Operation Sindoor' in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

PM Modi had said the Congress government under former PM Nehru lost more than 38,000 km of territory of Aksai Chin.

He criticised the Indus Waters Treaty agreement that the first Prime Minister Nehru signed with Pakistan as a "big blunder".

"Before asking why PoK (Pakistan Occupied Kashmir) has not been taken back yet, Congress must respond -- who let it go. India is still suffering the pain of mistakes committed by previous Congress governments, starting from Jawaharlal Nehru," PM Modi had said.

Responding to Prime Minister's allegations, the Congress, on Wednesday, hit back at the BJP, saying they have no answers to their "present-day failures" and they choose to "divert, distract, distort, and defame".

Congress General Secretary In-charge of Communications, Jairam Ramesh, said, "Yesterday in the Lok Sabha, both the Home Minister and the Prime Minister once again showed that they suffer from what in medical language is called obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) when it comes to Jawaharlal Nehru. It is possible that this will be on display in the Rajya Sabha too today."

He added, "They have NO answers to their present-day failures. They have NO answers to legitimate questions that are being raised on their policies and actions."

Earlier on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah also hit out at Nehru when he intervened in the debate.

He had said that a blunder by the main opposition party led to the creation of Pakistan and claimed that PoK was the legacy of first Prime Minister Nehru.

"In 1948, our armed forces were at a decisive stage in Kashmir. Sardar Patel kept saying no, but (Jawaharlal) Nehru announced a unilateral ceasefire. If Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir exists today, it is due to this unilateral ceasefire announced by Nehru. Jawaharlal Nehru is responsible for this," Home Minister Shah had said.

He had also claimed that Nehru ceded the geographical and strategic advantage India enjoyed and offered 80 per cent of the Indus water to Pakistan under the Indus Waters Treaty in 1960.

- IANS