On Congress’s ‘PoK’ Demand, PM Modi Recalls Nehru’s ‘Blunders’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a fresh attack on the Congress while responding to the two-day debate in the Lok Sabha on Operation Sindoor and the Pahalgam terror attack, accusing the party of “always compromising on national security”.

PM Modi then went on to make a series of remarks, highlighting the major decisions made by previous Congress governments, and pointing out how India missed several opportunities to reclaim Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. He also mentioned how India surrendered its water rights under the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan during Jawaharlal Nehru’s leadership.

“Those who are asking today why PoK was not taken back should first answer whose government gave the opportunity to Pakistan to capture PoK. The answer is clear.  Whenever I mention Nehru ji, Congress and its ecosystem get rattled..’Lamhon ne khata ki, sadiyon ne saza paayi’. To date, the country is suffering the punishment of all the decisions that were taken since independence,” he told the Lower House.

“Congress governments lost opportunities to get back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir when India had Pakistan’s land and soldiers in custody,” PM Modi added, referring to the 1971 war when India had captured thousands of Pakistani soldiers and territory.

#WATCH | Operation Sindoor | PM Narendra Modi says, “Congress has always compromised on national security. Those who are asking today why PoK was not taken back should first answer whose Govt gave the opportunity to Pakistan to capture PoK. The answer is clear. Whenever I mention… pic.twitter.com/sYzTNNgdAl

— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2025

Calling the Indus Water Treaty Nehru’s “biggest blunder,” PM Modi told the Lok Sabha that Nehru had also given money to Pakistan after agreeing to share 80 per cent of the Indus waters with it. He highlighted that even the successive governments did not correct the “mistake” made by Nehru regarding the Indus Water Treaty, but clarified that the NDA government made it clear that “blood and water cannot flow together”. 

“Due to the weak Governments of Congress, the country had to lose several lives, we had to lose our loved ones. Terrorism could have been reined in. Our government had made this happen in 11 years; this is big evidence of the same…A big reason behind terrorism thriving during the Congress regime is their politics of appeasement,” PM Modi alleged.

#WATCH | Operation Sindoor | PM Narendra Modi says, “Due to the weak Governments of Congress, the country had to lose several lives, we had to lose our loved ones. Terrorism could have been reined in. Our government had made this happen in 11 years; this is big evidence of the… pic.twitter.com/Iu32gTtT3r

— ANI (@ANI) July 29, 2025

Several leaders of the opposition, including LoP Rahul Gandhi, Congress MPs Pramod Tiwari, Gaurav Gogoi, and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, demanded answers from the Centre on why Pakistan-occupied Kashmir was not taken back when the Indian armed forces had the opportunity to do so during Operation Sindoor.

Earlier today, Rahul Gandhi accused the central government of not letting the armed forces act freely, alleging that the operational details were revealed to Pakistan, which failed to give the Indian military the full freedom of action.

Congress MP Pramod Tiwari had also questioned India’s ceasefire decision, saying, “Our line is clear that the PM should take responsibility and answer who was responsible for the ceasefire.” “The nation’s sentiment is not in favour of cricket at the moment. The nation wants the PoK to be part of India’s map… They are saying that Operation Sindoor is still underway. Is the cricket part of it?” he added.

Congress leader Gaurav Gogoi questioned the Centre why it halted the military action against Pakistan and stopped short of reclaiming PoK. Azad Samaj Party President and MP Chandrashekhar Azad also had similar queries regarding PoK. 

(With inputs from news agency PTI.)