Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (SP) president Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the Emergency imposition 50 years ago was unfortunate, but former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had apologized for proclaiming the widely criticised measure.
Speaking at an event organised by labour unions in Mumbai, Pawar, a Congress ally, emphasised that defending fundamental rights of citizens was a sacrosanct act and people need to be cautious about guarding them even today.
The veteran politician recalled that after consulting socialist stalwarts George Fernandes, Chandra Shekhar and Madhu Dandavate, a change in government (led by the Congress) was effected in Maharashtra in 1978 and he became chief minister.
In a reference to the BJP-led government, Pawar maintained criticism of the current dispensation is frowned upon.
“We have to be cautious today. Even today criticism of the government in the media is not taken kindly. Journalists are threatened. There is a difference between declared and undeclared Emergency,” the former Union minister noted.
He called upon citizens to remain united to preserve and safeguard Parliamentary democracy at any cost.
Praising veteran socialist late Fernandes, the Rajya Sabha MP pointed out that he rose from a labour union leader to become a minister at the Centre.
“He (Fernandes) had the power and strength to shutdown Mumbai with his bandh calls,” Pawar said and recalled how his popularity among the working class ensured his victory over Congress heavyweight SK Patil, who was called the ‘uncrowned king of Bombay’ (now Mumbai), from the metropolis in the 1967 parliamentary polls.
“The Emergency period (1975-77) was difficult for him. He (Fernandes) had to go underground. Several people like him sacrificed a lot to save democracy. He had ideological clarity. I was a new legislator (then) and noticed there was a lot of unrest among Congressmen over the imposition of the Emergency,” the Rajya Sabha MP emphasised.
The 84-year-old parliamentarian described the Emergency as an unfortunate event, but added Indira Gandhi, who headed a Congress government, had apologized for imposing the measure characterised by the curtailment of fundamental rights, suppression of dissent, mass arrests and press censorship.
Pawar recalled that post-Emergency, the Congress in Maharashtra split into two – Congress (I) led by Indira Gandhi and Congress (Socialist).
“People like me joined the Congress (S). The Indira Congress and Congress (S) formed an alliance government in the state though we were not mentally prepared for it. With the help of Fernandes, Chandra Shekhar and Dandavate, we changed the government. A regime change happened in 1978 (in Maharashtra) under my leadership (as CM) and it consisted of people who opposed the Emergency,” Pawar noted.
