STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to democracy had redeemed the wounds of Emergency, which would always remain a black spot in the history of post-independence India.
Dr. Jitendra Singh was addressing “Intellectual Sammelan” at the Jammu Club, here.
Quoting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the Emergency imposed in 1975 trampled and suppressed democracy, but democracy is in India’s DNA and that is why the nation could come out unscathed from that darkest period of post-independence times. India is indeed the Mother of Democracies, he added.
Democracy runs in the spirit and veins of a common Indian, he said.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, evaluation of ‘Dark Period- The Period of Emergency’ in India’s history is important so that the young generation can understand the meaning and significance of true democracy, its value and the sacrifices given by our seniors to save and sustain it.
Hailing the commitment of leaders and the common masses in resisting the imposition of emergency, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, the leaders of Jan Sangh supported the pro-democracy movement led by Jai Prakash Narain and rose against the draconian measures taken by the government. Jan Sangh followed the Mantra of ‘Nation First, Self Last’ in true spirit and as a party dissolved itself to join the JP movement, he recalled.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will always be remembered for laying the strong foundation of India’s democracy as it was only possible during his period that each benefit of democracy reached the last man in the last queue without any discrimination.
Recalling Winston Churchill’s words that India won’t survive as a democracy even for half a century after gaining freedom, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, had Churchill been alive today, he would have regretted his statement seeing India growing as a vibrant democracy under Narendra Modi and leading the world in every sphere. Today India has even left behind Churchill’s UK in many spheres including economy, he said.
The world today, said Dr Jitendra Singh, not only recognises India as a stable democracy but also a force to reckon with. This was evident from PM Modi’s just concluded USA visit, when even the USA visibly accepted India as an equal partner in all the bilateral engagements, he said.
Under PM Narendra Modi, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, India’s moment has arrived. It is India’s decade and India’s century, he said.