Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Sept 21: National Conference (NC) founder Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah conspired to have Maharaja Hari Singh sent in exile. The then Prime Minister, Pt Jawahar Lal Nehru colluded with his friend Sheikh and this NC-Congress conspiracy drove the Maharaja out of Jammu & Kashmir, BJP spokesperson, Arun Gupta said today.
Recalling the events of April 1949, Gupta said it was the coming together of Sheikh and Nehru that led to hounding out of the Maharaja from here.
Recalling the events of April 1949, Gupta said that as part of this conspiracy, PM Nehru invited Maharaja Hari Singh to Delhi for consultations. The Maharaja went to Delhi along with his wife, his son Karan Singh, some of his close aides and advisors. Once in Delhi, the Maharaja checked in at Hotel Imperial on Janpath along with his retinue. The Maharaja loved his State and spent nearly two months at Delhi and Dehradun. During this period, he met PM Nehru more than once and tried to argue that preventing him from going back to Jammu & Kashmir was an unfair move. However, the Maharaja’s repeated discussions with Nehru proved futile as the latter had decided to side with Sheikh. It was apparently Sheikh’s precondition before Nehru in lieu of his cooperation that the Maharaja be kept away from Jammu & Kashmir, Gupta said.
The Maharaja was shattered by this treachery of Sheikh Abdullah in which PM Nehru was a willing conspirator. When the Maharaja realised that he was being forced into exile, he chose to go to Bombay.
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