Speaking on the occasion of Jayaprakash Narayan’s 113th birth anniversary at an event that was organized in New Delhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that because of the anti-Emergency movement, the country’s economy has certainly gained an excellent strength.
Advertisement
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a new political generation was born with the JP movement.
“Emergency did a lot of damage to nation, it was an attack on India’s democratic tradition”, he went on to say.
Modi’s praise for Jayaprakash Narayan comes at a time when the social reformer’s home state – Bihar – is set to vote to select a new government.
Modi said “we do not want to remember Emergency to criticise someone, but to constantly be reminded of commitment towards democracy and freedom of press”. “He lived for the truth and what he felt was right”.
“The political generation born during the Emergency was absolutely dedicated to democratic values, impressed by Jayaprakash Narayan”, he added.
Prime Minister Modi also paid his tribute to Nanaji Deshmukh on his birth anniversary and said that the latter also implemented Jayaprakash Narayan’s idea of “Sampoorna Kranti” in villages.
“The programme to mark JP’s birth anniversary was a great walk down the memory lane, with those who participated in anti-Emergency movement”, he later tweeted. “Lets talk about how the anti-Emergency movement strengthened democracy”.
“Emergency was a black period in Indian democracy and the next generation should know what it is, why it was imposed, how it was imposed, what were its effects and side effects and how people taught a lesson to those who imposed it”, he said.
“Media should not let the country forget Emergency”, he said, adding that the leadership born during Emergency was not one for TV screens”.
Advani said, “It is rightly said that a people or a nation that forget their history, and their true heroes, do so at their own peril”.
Advertisement
We need not cry while remembering Emergency.
