PM Modi Calls Out Nehru Over ‘Sin Of Indus Waters Treaty’ A Day After News18 Report

Last Updated:August 19, 2025, 11:43 IST

News18 spoke to MPs Milind Deora and Ravi Kishan who said the PM spoke about the IWT not being cleared by the cabinet

PM Modi called out Nehru (right) over the signing of IWT. (PTI/News18 File)

A day after after News18’s exclusive report based on Parliament archives highlighted how former PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had signed the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) without the nod of the House, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in the Parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, called out the Congress over the issue.

News18 spoke to MPs Milind Deora and Ravi Kishan who said the PM spoke about the IWT not being cleared by the cabinet. They told News18 a large part of the PM’s speech was on “Congress’s sins” and IWT.

NCP MP Praful Patel said, “PM Modi briefed NDA MPs on CP Radhakrishnan’s background…The Indus Waters Treaty was signed in the wrong way by Pandit Nehru, and Parliament was not taken into confidence. In today’s time, it is not in the country’s interest.”

What News18 report said

On November 30, 1960, the Lok Sabha took up the Indus Waters Treaty for discussion. It was short but very intense. It revealed a deep divide between Jawaharlal Nehru’s government, which defended the treaty as pragmatic statesmanship, and a wide spectrum of MPs across parties, including Congressmen, who felt India had sacrificed too much to Pakistan.

The News18 report had highlighted how the treaty was signed without taking Parliament or opposition leaders into confidence. By the time Parliament discussed the treaty, it was already ratified.

This was one of the sharpest criticisms Nehru faced in his career. Almost every speaker condemned the treaty—calling it unfair, a sell-out, or even a “second partition”. A young Atal Behari Vajpayee, the MP from Balrampur, framed it as a dangerous concession that wouldn’t bring lasting friendship.

Nadda too called out betrayal

Hours after News18 report, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief and Union Minister JP Nadda had underscored the “betrayal” in a thread on X. “The Indus Water Treaty, 1960, was one of the biggest blunders of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru that kept national interest at the altar of personal ambitions. The nation must know that when former Pandit Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, he unilaterally handed over 80 per cent of Indus basin waters to Pakistan, leaving India with just 20 per cent of the share. It was a decision that permanently compromised India’s water security and national interest. The most appalling aspect was that he did it without consulting the Indian Parliament. The treaty was signed in September 1960. However, it was placed before Parliament only two months later, in November, and, that too, for a token discussion of mere 2 hours!” he wrote.

He further wrote: “It was such a monumental blunder that even Pandit Nehru’s own party MPs vehemently opposed it. He yielded far too much, receiving nothing in return. Congress’s Asoka Mehta slammed the treaty and called it akin to a ‘second partition’ for the country. His words expressed the grief and shock felt not only within his own party but also across the opposition and the nation on Nehru’s complete surrender.”

Nadda also highlighted Parliament’s records which showed how Congress’s A.C. Guha had criticised paying Rs 83 crore in sterling to Pakistan when India faced a foreign exchange crisis. He cited it as “the height of folly”.

“A young MP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tore into Nehru’s Indus Water Treaty. He warned that the Prime Minister’s argument, that succumbing to Pakistan’s unreasonable demands would establish friendship and goodwill, was flawed. True friendship, he argued, cannot be built on injustice. If opposing Pakistan’s unfair demands led to strained relations, then so be it!” wrote Nadda.

Nadda elaborated: …Despite his party colleagues’ vehement opposition, he defended the Indus Water Treaty as beneficial for India. If that was not enough, he belittled the nation’s anguish by asking, “Partition of what? A pailful of water?”

History must call it what it was: Nehru’s Himalayan Blunder, said Nadda, adding, “A Prime Minister who disregarded Parliament, gambled away India’s lifelines, and tied India’s hands for generations. Even today, India would have continued to pay the price for one man’s misplaced idealism, if not for Prime Minister Modi’s bold leadership and his commitment to ‘Nation First’. By putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, PM Modi has corrected done yet another grave historical wrong committed by Congress!”

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