There'd be no Kashmir issue had Nehru given Sardar Patel free hand: Rajnath

Said Jammu and Kashmir could have been merged with Indian Union like Hyderabad, Junagarh

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday said had former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru given free hand to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel then India wouldn't have Kashmir problem in the present time.

Addressing Gujarat Gaurav rally in Surat district, Singh also said that had Sardar Patel not been there, people would not have been able to see the political unity in the country.

"Had then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru given free hand to Sardar Patel to merge Jammu and Kashmir with Indian Union like Hyderabad and Junagarh then today we would not have been facing Kashmir issue," said Singh, adding that "Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (PoK) would also have become part of the Indian Union".

Singh said that apart from internal security concerns, as a home minister if he is concerned about a subject then it is Kashmir issue.

But, he assured countrymen that "nobody should worry about Kashmir problem as ultimately it would be resolved as no power in the world can stop us".

Talking about Pakistan, the Home Minister said that "though its name is Pak (pure), its deeds are naapak (impure). It always tries to disintegrate India, sends terrorists from its soil to India to kill India's sons".

Singh warned Pakistan that now the circumstances in India have changed as the Congress is not ruling the country.

"It seems Pakistan is unaware that circumstances have changed in India and Congress is not ruling India but Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is a son of a Gujarati mother, is heading the country," said Singh.

The Home Minister also reiterated that National Democratic Alliance (NDA) Government at the Centre has given free hand to security forces to deal with the terrorists.

"We have given free hand to the Indian Army and security forces to deal with the terrorists as today India has become strong and not weak."

Earlier, Singh praised Sardar Patel's contribution for the integration of India after Independence.

"When princely states of Hyderabad and Junagarh refused to merge with the Indian Union after Independence then it was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who made them to accede to India," said Singh.

He highlighted the importance of Bardoli and said that "It is the land of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and he had started farmers' movement in 1927-28 from Bardoli itself. And, that movement gave him the title of 'Sardar' across India".

The Home Minister added that another son of the soil, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is making India proud in front of the world.

Assembly elections are due in Gujarat and are expected to be held by the end of 2017 as the term of the current assembly expires on January 22, 2018.