India Faced Problems As Vallabhbhai Patel Was Not Assigned Task Of Integrating Kashmir: Veep

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday said India faced "problems" as Vallabhbhai Patel was not assigned the task of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the Union post-independence and asserted that, with the abrogation of the provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, things are "on track".

Mr Dhankhar also said as the chairman of its drafting committee, B R Ambedkar had declined to draft Article 370 into the Constitution. According to an official statement, Mr Dhankhar expressed happiness that Article 370 is "no more in our Constitution".

"All states' integration was assigned to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel except Jammu and Kashmir, and we know the problem we faced," he said.

The vice president made these remarks while addressing an event of the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) here.

He described Parliament as a "solemn House meant for dialogue, debate, deliberation and discussion", and underscored the need for the sensitisation of young minds to shape narratives that will effectively counter the "nefarious narratives" of disturbance and disruption.

Mr Dhankhar said transparency, accountability and achievement have now become the new norm in the country.

"Power corridors, once infested by corruption and power brokers, have now been fully sanitised, and this is a big milestone achievement," he said.

During the event, Mr Dhankhar also conferred various awards, including the Paul H Appleby Award and Dr Rajendra Prasad Award for Academic Excellence, and released publications. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)