Hours after News18’s exclusive report based on Parliament archives highlighted how former PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had signed the Indus Waters Treaty without the nod of the House, Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) chief and Union Minister JP Nadda underscored the “betrayal”. The News18 report highlighted how the treaty was signed without taking Parliament or opposition leaders into confidence. By the time Parliament discussed the treaty, it was already ratified. Nadda in a thread on X said: “The Indus Water Treaty, 1960, was one of the biggest blunders of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru that kept national interest at the altar of personal ambitions. The nation must know that when former Pandit Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, he unilaterally handed over 80 per cent of Indus basin waters to Pakistan, leaving India with just 20 per cent of the share. It was a decision that permanently compromised India’s water security and national interest. The most appalling aspect was that he did it without consulting the Indian Parliament. The treaty was signed in September 1960. However, it was placed before Parliament only two months later, in November, and, that too, for a token discussion of mere 2 hours!”
The Indus Water Treaty, 1960, was one of the biggest blunders of former PM Jawaharlal Nehru that kept national interest at the altar of personal ambitions.
The nation must know that when former Pandit Nehru signed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan, he unilaterally handed…
— Jagat Prakash Nadda (@JPNadda) August 18, 2025
He further wrote: “It was such a monumental blunder that even Pandit Nehru’s own party MPs vehemently opposed it. He yielded far too much, receiving nothing in return. Congress’s Asoka Mehta slammed the treaty and called it akin to a ‘second partition’ for the country. His words expressed the grief and shock felt not only within his own party but also across the opposition and the nation on Nehru’s complete surrender.”
Nadda also highlighted Parliament’s records which showed how Congress’s A.C. Guha had criticised paying Rs 83 crore in sterling to Pakistan when India faced a foreign exchange crisis. He cited it as “the height of folly”.
Guha warned that the way Parliament has been bypassed, “this may be the attitude of a totalitarian government”, the record shows. He also questioned as to “why should India make all the sacrifices to placate Pakistan when Pakistan is not in a mood to be on friendly terms with India”.
#Exclusive | Indus Water Treaty Was Signed Without Parliament Nod: Congress, Vajpayee Accused Nehru Of Sell-Out@AmanKayamHai_ | #induswatertreaty #Congress pic.twitter.com/7aZnCZ9Ewu
— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 17, 2025
“A young MP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, tore into Nehru’s Indus Water Treaty. He warned that the Prime Minister’s argument, that succumbing to Pakistan’s unreasonable demands would establish friendship and goodwill, was flawed. True friendship, he argued, cannot be built on injustice. If opposing Pakistan’s unfair demands led to strained relations, then so be it!” wrote Nadda.
Nadda elaborated: “Such was the clarity with which Atal ji placed India’s national interest above everything else. When Pandit Nehru finally rose, his arguments were not only unconvincing but far removed from the national sentiment. Despite his party colleagues’ vehement opposition, he defended the Indus Water Treaty as beneficial for India. If that was not enough, he belittled the nation’s anguish by asking, “Partition of what? A pailful of water?”
The Indus Water Treaty had been signed without taking the Parliament into confidence. Nehru and Pakistan’s military ruler President Ayub Khan signed it in Karachi on Sept 19, 1960. By the time Parliament discussed the treaty, it was already ratified!https://t.co/MtccxV5ZQe
— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) August 18, 2025
Nadda wrote that Nehru had admitted that he had taken the decision without bothering about Parliamentary approval in matters of international treaties that handed away India’s critical resources. To add insult to injury, he derided the opinions of fellow parliamentarians who spoke for the national interest as being too “narrow”, said Nadda.
History must call it what it was: Nehru’s Himalayan Blunder, said Nadda, adding, “A Prime Minister who disregarded Parliament, gambled away India’s lifelines, and tied India’s hands for generations. Even today, India would have continued to pay the price for one man’s misplaced idealism, if not for Prime Minister Modi’s bold leadershipand his commitment to ‘Nation First’. By putting the Indus Water Treaty in abeyance, PM Modi has corrected done yet another grave historical wrong committed by Congress!”
