UP CM pays tributes to Emergency 'martyrs'

Lucknow, June 25 (HS): Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, paid homage on Sunday to those who spoke out against the Emergency and championed democracy despite restrictions on their civic rights. "Salute to all the martyrs who fought fearlessly against the cruel dictatorship, without wavering or bowing down, to preserve India's great democracy!" Adityanath remarked in a Hindi tweet. The Emergency was declared by Indira Gandhi on June 25, restricting civil freedoms and suppressing the press. The day after a crackdown on opposition leaders and activists began, with dozens of them imprisoned around the country. On March 21, 1977, the Emergency was ended.

In a tweet in Hindi, UP's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya attacked the Congress for declaring an emergency, saying, "Congress means Emergency ('Aapaatkaal'), BJP means 'Amrit Kaal'! The Congress Party believes in tyranny, whereas the BJP believes in democracy. The Congress does not have democracy in its DNA; it has dictatorship. A Congress-free India is essential for the country and democracy," he stated.

In a subsequent tweet, Maurya mocked Bihar Chief Minister and senior JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar for warming up to the Congress. "Outspoken socialist leaders Nitish Kumar ji and Lalu Yadav ji, who were born opposing the Emergency, are today deafeningly silent on the Emergency Day. Nitish Babu was then arrested at gunpoint. But now he prefers the Congress rifle," Maurya explained.

Hindusthan Samachar/Abhishek Awasthi