Overview

• At a meeting of NDA MPs in Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticized Jawaharlal Nehru for concluding the Indus Waters Treaty without Cabinet or Parliament approval, according to lawmakers present.
• The push followed a News18 report based on Lok Sabha archives stating the treaty was signed and ratified before a full House debate, with 1960 records showing sharp objections from Asoka Mehta, A. C. Guha and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
• BJP president J. P. Nadda called the agreement a "Himalayan blunder," alleged that 80% of Indus basin waters were ceded to Pakistan, and praised the 2025 decision to hold the treaty in abeyance.
• India has kept the treaty on hold since the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, a move the government presents as protecting national interests.
• Congress pushed back, with Rajeev Shukla defending Nehru’s role, while Pakistan’s army chief recently warned of severe retaliation if water flows are reduced.