Sardar Patel, Syama Prasad Mukherjee attended meet on Article 370: Farooq Abdullah

New Delhi, Dec 12: Coming out in defence of Jawahar Lal Nehru after the BJP blamed the country's first prime minister for decades of violence and instability in Jammu and Kashmir and the special constitutional privileges for the erstwhile state under Article 370, National Conference stalwart and former chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Tuesday claimed the former was in the US when the special provision was brought.

Speaking to ANI on Tuesday, the former Jammu and Kashmir CM claimed then Union Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and saffron ideologue and Bharatiya Jana Sangh founder Syama Prasad Mukherjee were involved in the process of according special constitutional privileges to the erstwhile state.

"I donot know why they (BJP) have so much venom against (Pandit Jawaharlal) Nehru. Nehru is not the one responsible (for providing special status to J&K under Article 370). When this article (370) was brought, Sardar Patel was here (in Parliament) and Pandit Nehru was in America. When the cabinet meeting (on the imposition of the special constitutional provision) took place, Syama Prasad Mukherjee was also party to it. It was at this meeting that the decision was taken," the NC stalwart said.

Abdullah said he was hopeful that the Supreme Court would direct the Centre to conduct immediate elections in Jammu and Kashmir.

The apex court, while upholding the revocation of Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir in a landmark ruling on Monday, set a deadline of September next year for the Centre to hold elections there.

"We want immediate elections to take place in Kashmir but the Supreme Court gave them time till September. Where's the justice?" he said.

On whether the Centre should initiate efforts to take back Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) from Pakistan, the National Conference chief said," They should take it. Who is stopping them? The government has to make a decision. Who are we to decide?"