Emergency nightmare still haunts Guv

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Bhubaneswar: Remembering the 21-month-long Emergency, from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977, Governor Ganeshi Lal Monday in a press statement said, “the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi misguided the country with a fake democracy.”
Lal, who was then serving as a Professor at National College in Haryana, recalled how he was beaten all ends up by the policemen on the road in broad daylight.
He said it was Indira Gandhi’s “purely personal and political vendetta” that led her to take such a drastic decision.
Pointing out that June 25, 1975 would be remembered for the collapse of democratic institutions and suspension of civil rights and liberties, he lamented imposition of censorship on press for indefinite period by Indira.
Even the slogan ‘India is Indira and Indira is India’ is undemocratic and is too much in a country like ours where an individual cannot be above or equal with the country, he stressed.
It is the Constitution and the citizens who are the real strength of India. “Although 43 years have passed since then but still the nightmare of those 21 months continues to haunt those who have suffered the brute power,” he added.
Leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Charan Singh, Chandrasekhar, George Fernandes, Nanaji Deshmukh, Arun Jaitely and many more were targeted and put into jails. Many also went underground. Even the common man was not spared. They were arrested without trial and even there were many who were harassed mercilessly. MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) was completely misused, he added.
The Governor said that 1975 National Emergency is a great lesson to remember as while recalling it, “we get alert and vigilant to ensure that our civil liberties remain protected.”
He added that presently, more than half the country’s population is born after 1975 and thus they know little about the Emergency. They must be made aware about what had happened then, the demerits of Emergency and how the country and its citizens had suffered. As future leaders of the country, our youth must be at the forefront to make the country vibrant, he concluded.