Prime Minister speaks at NDA’s parliamentary meet on Tuesday (PTI photo)
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday slammed former Prime Minister Jawaharal Nehru saying he admitted the Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan brought no benefit to India.Speaking during the National Democractic Alliance (NDA) parliamentary meet, PM Modi said that the former PM partitioned the country twice- once with the Radcliffe Line, and then with the treaty, sources told news agency ANI.”Nehru partitioned the country once, and then again. Under the Indus Water Treaty, 80 percent of the water was given to Pakistan. Later, through his secretary, Nehru admitted his mistake, saying that it brought no benefit,” PM said, as quoted by ANI. He further called the treaty anti-farmer.The Radcliffe line was established as the boundary between India and Pakistan in 1947, demarcated by British lawyer Sir Cyril Radcliffe. This line divided the provinces of Punjab and Bengal into two separate territories, India and Pakistan.Signed in 1960, the Indus Water Treatygoverns the sharing of the Indus River system between India and Pakistan. Under the agreement, Pakistan received control over the western rivers — Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab — while India got control over the eastern rivers — Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej. The treaty also set up a Permanent Indus Commission and created a three-level system to resolve disputes. After the Pahalgam attack in April 2025, India suspended the Indus Water Treaty. The decision carries serious implications for Pakistan, which relies on the western rivers for agriculture and drinking water in its cities.Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi was quick to hit back at PM Modi, saying that despite being in the centre for 11 years, the PM has been avoiding responsibility.”In these 10-11 years, there are many things for which they (BJP) have blamed Nehru ji’s to wash their hands of responsibility. They should fulfil their responsibilities, stop talking about the past, and talk about what is happening today. They should answer why SIR is being done, and talk about the issue of vote theft. If this is not true, then tell the public,” the Congress leader told reporters outside parliament.This is not the first time the prime minister has blamed Nehru for the Indus Water Treaty. Speaking in the parliament on July 29, the prime minister said that Nehru acknowledged the mistake to Nirajan Das Gulati, who was involved with the agreement. “Nehru told him that he hoped the treaty would open the way for solving other problems, but they were still where they started. Nehru was only able to see the immediate effects, but the truth is that this agreement set the country back significantly, harming our farmers and agriculture. Nehru’s diplomacy didn’t consider existence of farmers,” PM Modi said.The NDA meeting also saw the prime minister introducing NDA’s vice-president candidate pick CP Radhakrishan, calling him a grassroots leader of from the Other Backward Class (OBC) community. The prime minister also urged the opposition to support NDA’s candidate. Meanwhile, INDIA block has announced former SC judge B Sudershan Reddy as its candidate for the vice president’s post. Go to Source
