Shivraj Singh Chouhan blames Jawaharlal Nehru for Indus Water Treaty, says he gave 80 per cent water and money to Pakistan

Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday criticised late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, blaming him for giving away India’s water and money to Pakistan through the Indus Waters Treaty.

Speaking at a farmers’ gathering in Delhi, Chouhan, a senior BJP leader, called the 1960 treaty a “historic injustice” that deprived Indian farmers and emboldened a terror-sponsoring neighbour.

“When the Indus Water Treaty was signed, Nehru gave 80 per cent of the water to Pakistan. Not just that, he also handed over Rs 83 crore to build canals, an amount that today would be worth Rs 5,500 crore. Our water, our money, and in return we got terrorism,” the minister said.

During his address, Chouhan claimed that India’s water experts had opposed the treaty, but Nehru insisted on it. “Even Atal Bihari Vajpayee had said in Parliament that this treaty should never have happened. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi has now ended this historic injustice. We commend him for this decisive step,” the former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister said.

Chouhan called the scrapping of the treaty a turning point, asserting that the water earlier sent to Pakistan would now benefit Indian farmers. “We were starving our own farmers to feed a country that sponsors terrorism. That ends now,” he said.

Brokered by the World Bank, the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty divided the use of the Indus river system between India and Pakistan. Following the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, India suspended the treaty, saying it would stay scrapped until Pakistan “credibly and irrevocably” ends cross-border terrorism.

Turning to Operation Sindoor, Chouhan also praised the Indian armed forces for their swift response to recent provocations by Pakistan.

“Pakistan thought it could intimidate India with Turkish and Chinese drones and missile strikes. But I am proud of the bravery of our armed forces. They took down enemy drones and missiles like toys. Now, our children are playing with their debris. Within just three days, the enemy was brought to its knees,” he said.