NEW DELHI: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said that the period of emergency 'should be kept alive in the memories' so that no one ever thinks of 'imposing dictatorial thoughts' on the country.
Delivering a keynote address at an event organised to mark the 50th anniversary of the decleration of Emergency, which has named "Samvidhan Hatya Diwas," Shah said the period must be remembered eternally so that the 'country’s youth and adolescents are kept aware and prepared to resist such injustice.'
Emergency was declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975.
The Home Minister said the country would never forget the "injustice" and "atrocities committed by the Congress" during the Emergency adding that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rightly decided to observe the day as "Samvidhan Hatya Diwas."
"Today, we are gathered here to remember a dark chapter in the history of post-Independence India. We must keep the memories of the Emergency alive so that it is never repeated, and so that the youth of the nation grow up in a culture and remain organised against it,” Shah said.
During the event, Shah also released a book, The Emergency Diaries: Years That Forged a Leader, which is based on anecdotes from associates who worked with PM Narendra Modi during the period, along with other archival materials.
“The book chronicles his experiences as a young activist during the Emergency, a period in which he was actively involved in the movement for 19 months. At that time, secret newspapers were published and PM Modi played a key role in distributing them in marketplaces, among students and to women,” Shah said.
“PM Modi worked underground disguised as a sadhu, a sardarji, a hippie, an incense stick seller or a newspaper vendor,” Shah claimed.
Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Ashwini Vaishnaw, Delhi LG V K Saxena and Chief Minister Rekha Gupta were also present at the event.