'Kashmir acceded to India the way Mysore did'

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said that “Jammu and Kashmir by virtue of accession is an integral part of India”, hoping the Chinese would “keep the neutrality” they had on the issue.

External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna said that “Jammu and Kashmir by virtue of accession is an integral part of India”, hoping the Chinese would “keep the neutrality” they had on the issue.

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To another question seeking his comments on Chief Minister Omar Abdullah saying Kashmir was acceded and had not merged with India, Krishna said, “Kashmir is a legitimate part of India. Kashmir was acceded to India the way Mysore was.” He added that in that sense he didn’t see anything objectionable in Abdullah’s comments.

Abdullah had said in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly that the state had only acceded and not merged with Union of India and could not be compared to Junagarh and Hyderabad.

The statement had triggered a controversy, with BJP criticising him for it.