Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday remembered former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her 42nd death anniversary, saying her career graph showed that the true essence of democracy is that no position, no power and no legacy is greater than the people’s mandate.
“Today marks the day Indira ji shed her blood and made the ultimate sacrifice for the nation. She fought for India’s freedom from childhood, led the country to a historic victory in the 1971 war that resulted in the creation of Bangladesh, and ultimately laid down her life in the line of duty.
“What is remarkable is that even a leader of her stature had to face the people’s verdict. That is the true essence of democracy – no position, no power and no legacy is greater than the people’s mandate,” Mehbooba Mufti said in a post on X.
It is this very democratic right that “the present government is accused of undermining by stealing our votes”, she added.
Indira Gandhi suffered a historic defeat in the 1977 general elections, marking the first time an incumbent prime minister lost his/her seat and the first time the Congress lost power at the Centre.
The elections took place during the Emergency, which officially expired on March 21, 1977, shortly before the final results were announced.
Gandhi, India’s first woman prime minister, was assassinated by her bodyguards on this day in 1984.
