Veteran Congress leader Karan Singh on Friday hit back at party colleague Jairam Ramesh for criticizing his recent article on the merger of Jammu and Kashmir. India and said that “derogatory remarks” about his father were “unacceptable”.
In a statement, Singh said he expected his views to be taken in the spirit in which he wrote them, rather than becoming the subject of “nonsense comments”.
Ramesh had on Thursday criticized Singh for “drifting” Union minister Kiren Rijuju’s “hit job” on Jawaharlal Nehru’s role in the merger of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
The Congress general secretary’s remarks came on Singh’s article in an English daily on the accession of Jammu and Kashmir to India in which Ramesh had said that he had defended his father and the then ruler Hari Singh.
Responding to Ramesh’s remarks, Singh said, “I have noticed that the irreverent Jairam Ramesh has thought it appropriate to make a statement on my article in Hindustan Times yesterday. He has made two points, both of which are unacceptable. That allegation Let us begin by saying that my article was somehow against Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. It is absolutely absurd.”
“Pandit ji was my mentor ever since I entered public life at the age of 18 and I will always hold him in the highest esteem. To suggest otherwise is disgraceful,” said the former ‘Sadar-e-Riyasat’ of the former Jammu and Kashmir state.
Singh pointed out that he had dedicated his latest book “An Examined Life” to Nehru and in his article he clarified that he was not dealing with the many allegations leveled by Rijiju against the first Prime Minister of India.
He said Rijiju’s allegation was a separate matter and needed a more detailed rebuttal on which “Ramesh should act”.
Singh said his article in the English daily was specifically directed to explain his father’s role in the entire accession process.
“Jayaram makes some lewd comments about my father. His reading of history is clearly selective. He may go to Prem Shankar Jha’s book and other books on J&K to get a different perspective,” said the former Union Minister and former Governor of J&K.
“I am the last surviving eyewitness of the events before and after the signing of the Instrument of Accession, which I have described in some detail in my autobiography,” Singh said.
Responding to Singh’s article earlier, Ramesh had said on Twitter, “There is not a single scholarly and serious work on J&K that portrays Maharaja Hari Singh in a good light.” “Even this official act of VP Menon does not make Hari Singh the wrong man. So it is only natural that his son Dr. Karan Singh defended him in HT today,” Ramesh had said while sharing a screenshot of the cover of a book by Menon.
The Congress general secretary in-charge of communications had said, “However, to my surprise, Dr. Karan Singh has sidelined Rijuju’s hit job on Nehru…”.
The merger of Jammu and Kashmir came into focus as it was at the center of a war of words between the BJP and the Congress last week. Rijiju wrote an article for a portal citing “five Nehruvian blunders”, including pushing the idea of a plebiscite and making Jammu and Kashmir’s accession provisional.
The minister had said that it was important to realize past mistakes to create a new future and added that he has not distorted history but told facts to straighten the record.
The Congress had demanded an apology from Rijiju for his criticism of Nehru’s handling of the Kashmir issue and asked the Prime Minister. Narendra Modi To prevent ministers from making “irresponsible statements”.
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