Patel as PM would’ve prevented Pakistan, Article 370: Rajasthan Minister

Jaipur, Nov 24 (IANS) Rajasthan Agriculture Minister Kirodi Lal Meena said on Monday that if Vallabhbhai Patel had been the country’s first Prime Minister instead of Jawaharlal Nehru, there would have been no Pakistan or Article 370, and India would have remained completely united.

Meena alleged that Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was the result of decisions made by India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.

He said Sardar Patel would have ensured a united India had he been the prime minister. 

Recalling BJP’s founding father Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, he said Mukherjee resigned from Nehru’s cabinet after opposing Article 370. 

“It was PM Modi who finally abolished Article 370, giving true freedom and democracy to Kashmir,” he said during his address at the launch of the Jago Jago Ekta Padyatra in Ramganj Mandi assembly constituency on the occasion of Sardar Patel’s 150th birth anniversary. 

He further said the BJP is a party that came to power to serve the people, not for political gain. 

“For us, the nation comes first—above caste, party, and everything else,” he claimed. 

Meena also criticised the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, alleging he makes “irresponsible” statements, even about the Army.

He mentioned unveiling a statue of a soldier martyred in the 1962 war in Bhilwara and said Congress had neglected such heroes. 

Referring to national security, Meena said that if anyone dared to strike inside Pakistan, it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 

He claimed that in PM Modi’s 11 years of leadership, no major terrorist attack took place, adding that the recent incident at the Red Fort has shocked the nation, but PM Modi will bring the culprits to justice, even if they are hiding in the underworld.

He accused the Congress of “strangling” democracy during the Emergency under former PM Indira Gandhi. 

“Those who suppressed the press and jailed leaders now claim democracy is in danger,” he said. 

He also alleged that the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes are misled by false propaganda that Modi would abolish the Constitution. “Jawaharlal Nehru was the biggest opponent of Ambedkar,” he claimed, adding that the BJP has worked under the principle of Antyodaya to uplift the poor. 

Remembering tribal icon Birsa Munda on his 150th birth anniversary, Dilawar said that Birsa Munda was a revolutionary feared by the British. 

“Poisoning him at the age of 25 only proves his greatness,” the minister said. 

--IANS

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