Modi asserted that he had “settled the Kashmir issue” in some way during a public event in Gujarat before the state assembly elections that are scheduled for the end of the year.
Modi claimed that he was following in the footsteps of Sardar Patel, India’s first home minister, and that Patel “persuaded all the princely states to combine with India.” The apparent dig at Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister, was “But another guy managed this one issue of Kashmir.”
According to reports, Modi stated, “As I am walking in the footsteps of Sardar saheb, I have values of the country of Sardar, and that was the reason I handled the Kashmir conflict and paid true honour to Sardar Patel.”
The Foreign Office (FO) expressed disapproval of the inappropriate remarks, describing them as “not only untrue and misleading but also illustrates how naïve the Indian leadership has grown of the ground reality in IIOJK,” in a statement.
“Jammu and Kashmir is a recognised international conflict whose resolution has been on the UN’s agenda since 1948. India has illegally occupied the area and is responsible for appalling human rights violations while using over 900,000 ruthless occupation soldiers, according to the FO. This is despite unambiguous UN resolutions that call for a free and impartial plebiscite to settle the conflict.
