New Delhi--Marking the 40th anniversary of the Emergency, considered one of the most controversial periods in India’s history, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today tweeted that a ‘vibrant liberal democracy is the key to progress.’ He exhorted the nation to do ‘everything possible to further strengthen our democratic ideals & ethos.’
In multiple tweets, PM Modi hailed all the people who resisted the Emergency and ‘immersed themselves in the movement’ spurred by the call of Jayaprakash Narayan, a valiant Janata Party leader.
“Emergency was a great opportunity to work with a wide spectrum of leaders & organisations fighting for the same goal- return of democracy,” PM Modi tweeted.
For a period of 21 months between 1975 and 1977, then prime minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi had imposed a ‘state of emergency’, which gave her the right to rule by decree. The period, that was condemned by liberal activists and anti-Congress forces alike, saw thousands of people being jailed without a trial and censorship of the press. In the elections following the Emergency, the Congress party faced a massive defeat with both Indira and her son Sanjay Gandhi losing from their respective constituencies.
INDIAN EXPRESS
