Headlines
Emergency India's darkest period, can't be forgotten: Modi
New Delhi, June 25
Prime Minister Narendra Modi
on Thursday said India was placed under Emergency 40 years ago "for the
sake of power" and the event which "cannot be forgotten" was the
"darkest period" in our history.
"Forty years ago, lakhs of
people were imprisoned, the press was censored and the radio only spoke
what the government wanted," said Modi.
He was speaking at a
function to launch the Smart Cities Mission, Atal Mission for
Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Pradhan Mantri Awas
Yojana (PMAY) - all programmes aimed at bettering quality of urban
living.
"June 25-26 cannot be forgotten in the history of India.
Forty years ago, the nation was placed under Emergency for the sake of
power," Modi said.
Earlier, Modi took to Twitter and said the
Emergency rule from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, was "one of
India's darkest periods".
He posted a number of tweets on the
Emergency's 40th anniversary. He urged people to do "everything possible
to further strengthen our democratic ideals and ethos".
Modi said the then political leadership "trampled over the democracy" during the Emergency period.
"We
mark 40 years of one of India's darkest periods - the Emergency when
the then political leadership trampled over our democracy," Modi
tweeted.
"A vibrant liberal democracy is the key to progress. Let
us do everything possible to further strengthen our democratic ideals
and ethos," another of his tweets said.
The then prime minister
Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency in India, citing grave threat to her
government and sovereignty of the country from both internal and
external forces.
Modi said that inspired by the call of social
reformer and political leader Jayaprakash Narayan, several men and women
across India selflessly immersed themselves in the movement to
safeguard the democracy.
"We are very proud of the lakhs of
people who resisted the Emergency and whose efforts ensured that our
democratic fabric is preserved," Modi said.
"Personally, the Emergency brings back many memories. As youngsters, we learnt a lot during the anti-Emergency movement."
Modi
said: "Emergency was a great opportunity to work with a wide spectrum
of leaders and organisations fighting for the same goal - the return of
democracy."