New Delhi, Sep 5: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval sparked a political row by saying that having a separate constitution for Jammu and Kashmir was probably an 'aberration' as sovereignty “cannot be diluted or ill-defined”. Doval said the British wanted to create chaos; hence, they let the princely states to decide for themselves. The NSA was speaking at the launch of a book on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Tuesday.

"The thing was that, to make a sovereign state in which there was the sovereignty of the people, was established in the Constitution, which is applicable to the whole of it. Probably with Jammu and Kashmir, where the Constitution was... in a truncated form... another constitution of J&K continued to exist, which is an aberration," news agency Press Trust of India quoted Doval as saying. India's NSA Ajit Doval Holds Talks with Chinese Counterpart, Resetting Ties On The Agenda.

Doval said sovereignty “cannot be a diluted and ill-defined”, adding that when the “British left, probably they did not want to leave India as a strong sovereign state.” He said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had sensed the plan of the then British government. Reacting to Doval's statement, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said his remarks showed his “insensitivity” towards the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

“Such inflexions and unwarranted remarks of Doval when Kashmir is reeling under trouble and witnessing a political turmoil show the insensitivity of the NSA towards the people of Kashmir,” PDP chief spokesperson Rafi Ahmad Mir said in a statement.

Mir also said: "It is unfortunate that when a Muslim majority state rejected the two-nation theory and went on to accede to a Hindu majority nation with trust, we are being harassed and pushed to the wall by these assaults on our state's special status.

"I would like the NSA to know that the Instrument of Accession is a valid legal document and nobody should forget the essence of Clause 8 of the Instrument of Accession, which shows in its opening sentence that the instrument did not in any way affect the sovereignty in and over the acceding state."

National Conference leader Mustafa Kamal accused the central government of diving people. "If the government does not take notice, it will be proved that Doval is saying this at the behest of the government. Delhi has divided India," Kamal told a news channel.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 05, 2018 07:53 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).