india

Updated: Sep 11, 2019 22:06 IST

Union law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday said India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was wrong and the then home minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was right in handling the Jammu and Kashmir issue after Independence.

Talking to media on Wednesday at Ahmedabad, Prasad said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah showed immense courage and corrected that “historic blunder”.

“I want to say that in Jammu and Kashmir, Sardar Patel was right and Jawaharlal Nehru was wrong. It (Article 370 of the Constitution) was a historical blunder committed (that time) and (by scrapping the special status) Narendra Modi as our PM, showing immense courage, corrected that historical wrong,” Prasad said.

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The Congress countered his assertion saying that ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) likes to meddle with the history. “First, the BJP is admitting that it had no role in freedom fight. Then, by pitching Nehru against Sardar, Gandhi against Nehru, the BJP wants to damage the history,’’ said Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi.

Prasad was here on Wednesday to highlight the achievements of the Modi government in its first 100 days of its second term.

Also Read: Abrogation of Art 370, Modi govt’s biggest achievement in 100 days: Union Minister

On situation in Jammu and Kashmir after Article 370 was nullified, Prasad said “not a single bullet has been fired” ever since the controversial provision of the Constitution was scrapped last month.

“Curfew has been lifted from all areas (in J&K), except those under the jurisdiction of 14 police stations there,” he said.

Asked about recent tweet by the Pakistan Prime Minister on PoK, Prasad said,

“Imran Khan should first tell the world about the basic rights and jobs of those originally from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. He should first talk about this, then hold protests.’’

The law minister also said the Indian economy was in a good state. “Indian economy’s fundamentals are strong,’’ he said.

Prasad said the Centre was working on a plan to bring digital processes in issuance of tax notices to reduce the unnecessary harassment of assesses and bring greater transparency.

“The Centre has taken a very important decision. From October 2, 2019 onwards, the tax notices will not be issued directly by the assessing officials. The (proposed) notices will first go into a digital system, which will further examine the notice and it will be issued only if (the notice) is found to be proper,” he said.

Prasad also claimed credit for improving ease of doing business through digital initiatives by his Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. On employment, he said, the government cannot assure jobs to all and that it was working on creating adequate employment avenues.

Also Read: ‘Created a lot of terror’: Lashkar terrorist who shot at Kashmiri toddler killed