Senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz propagates another lie, claims Sardar Patel was willing to give up Kashmir.

From a mainstream pan-India party that the Congress once was, it has been reduced to a mere extremist player not sparring even issues involving national security for its desperate survival. In yet another example of how the Congress is adamant on conducting itself in a manner which is extremely detrimental to India’s interests and integrity, senior Congress leader Saifuddin Soz claimed that the ironman of India, Sardar Patel was willing to give up Kashmir for Hyderabad during partition.

The manipulative, Pakistan-sympathizing Congress leader stated that Sardar Patel was a pragmatist and had offered Kashmir to Liaquat Ali Khan, the then Pakistan prime minister. Speaking at the sidelines of his book launch, Soz further added that Sardar had told Pakistan prime minister, ‘don’t talk of Hyderabad, talk Kashmir; take Kashmir but don’t talk of Hyderabad’. Soz claimed that while Liaquat Khan was preparing for war, Sardar wasn’t.

This is not for the first time that the anti-national Congress leader has courted controversy by making anti-India statements. He had recently triggered a controversy by backing the former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf’s stance on Kashmir. In his book, ‘Kashmir: Glimpses of History and the Story of Struggle’ Soz had advocated secessionism in the valley. Soz had stated, “Musharraf said Kashmiris don’t want to merge with Pakistan, their first choice is independence. The statement was true then and remains true now also. I say the same but I know that it is not possible.” 

It is shameful how the senior Congress leader has openly misquoted and maligned Sardar Patel who not only happens to be one of the ardent Nationalist Congress leaders till date but also a statesman who is to be solely credited for keeping the country united after independence.

This statement by Soz is an utter lie and a naive attempt to mislead the people of country with reference to India’s history. The claim that Sardar Patel offered Kashmir to Pakistan is a shameless and brazen lie. In reality, the ironman of India never offered a single inch of Indian territory to Pakistan leave alone the question of offering Kashmir to the bigoted neighbour. Patel never made any offers to Pakistan and those making such claims should stop spreading misinformation and brazen lies. Patel had actually stated, “there is nothing to discuss with Pakistan’s leadership.” The fact remains that Patel could have never even interacted with Pakistani leadership, he had realised the futility of holding talks with Pakistan much before anyone else. As opposed to the claims made by the Congress led cabal and Saifuddin Soz, Patel was always pushing for accession of Kashmir to India.

In sharp contrast to Jawaharlal Nehru’s soft and careless attitude towards India’s integration post independence, Sardar Patel epitomised political strength and was instrumental in the integration of princely states with India post independence. This is why Patel had continued to advise to stop pressuring Hari Singh into making Sheikh Abdullah his prime minister. It was only due to this factor that Hari Singh was reluctant to accede to India. The meeting that Soz is talking about took place on November 1, 1947 that was attended by Liaquat Khan, Lord Ismay (chief of staff to Mountbatten) and Lord Mountbatten. It is beyond comprehension how Soz is giving an account of this meeting. It seems that his version is entirely a figment of imagination without even an iota of truth.

Sardar Patel remains the beacon of non-Nehru Gandhi leadership within the Congress. Since, the Congress is composed more or less of Nehru-Gandhi sycophants, immense hatred for the legendary leader does not come as a surprise. Soz’s shameful lie about Sardar Patel can be described as an outburst of collective hatred towards Patel within the Congress despite his valueless contribution in India’s integration. This also shows a dangerous urgency within the Congress to support Pakistan and secessionism when it comes to choosing between supporting Modi government on national issues and Pakistan’s interests. The Congress strategy is clearly to break India if it cannot win India. This is a dangerous tendency and the Congress is slowly getting reduced into a hardliner outfit from a mainstream national political party.