Ex MP Sivaji wants 1975 emergency victims be honoured

GUNTUR: In a proposal that could help Prime Minister Narendra Modi in further nailing Indira Gandhi regime, former MP Yalamanchili Sivaji has demanded that all 1975 emergency victims be treated as freedom fighters. He said that more than 1.4 lakh people were arrested during the draconian rule but their sacrifices were not recognized.
Veteran parliamentarian Sivaji met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Phadnavis in Mumbai on Monday and requested him to take the issue to the notice of the Prime Minister Modi.Sivaji had also met Maharashtra governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao, who was his associate in parliament in the past, and discussed the issue. Sivaji and Vidyasagar Rao were friends during the days of emergency. In a representation made to CM Phadnavis, Sivaji said that Amnesty international itself identified that more than 1.4 lakh people were arrested without trial during 1975-77.
“Ironically, seven non-congress government that ruled the nation between 1979-2004 have failed to grant any relief to these victims,” said Sivaji. He said that then PM AB Vajpayee had promised him to look into the issue. He asked the rationale behind not recognizing the emergency victims as freedom fighters when the thousands of communist party workers of Telangana struggle between 1947-48 were also given the recognition. “In fact, emergency was the biggest blot on the democracy of India and those who fought against such dark should be honoured,” observed Sivaji.
Recently, Modi headed NDA government at the centre organized Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel birth anniversary on October, 31 by simply overshadowing the late PM Indira Gandhi’ death anniversary on the same day. While paying tributes to Indira Gandhi, PM said that wounds caused during the clashes that followed the assassination of Mrs Gandhi were yet to be healed. In this context, Yalamanchili Sivaji proposal might give BJP government a big chance to highlight the dark rule of Indira Gandhi regime to further embarrass the Congress party if it decided to recognize the emergency victims across the nation as freedom fighters.