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Emergency was ‘rightly imposed’, Indira most favoured leader: Chidambaram

  • ‘Indira Gandhi is the ‘most favoured leader’ of the country after Mahatma Gandhi’
  • ‘Emergency was rightly imposed’
  • ‘Indira Gandhi admitted her mistake and that was great quality of hers’
Emergency was rightly imposed Indira most favoured leader Chidambaram

Praising former prime minister Indira Gandhi, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday, described her as the "most favoured leader" of the country after Mahatma Gandhi. He also claimed that Emergency was "rightly" imposed. He said one had to "look into the circumstances" which led to it.

"Indira Gandhi did not belong to any religion, region or caste. That is why, she is truly loved by all the sections of the country even today," the former Union home minister said at a seminar  commemorating the birth centenary celebrations of the Congress stalwart in  Hyderabad.

"Many social scientists have said that after Mahatma Gandhi, whose name is easily recognised anywhere in the country, the most favoured leader is Indira," said the Rajya Sabha member. "One can agree, disagree or debate, but no one can doubt Indira Gandhi's patriotism and love for the people of this country," he added.

Chidambaram said the former prime minister had the courage of conviction and that was why she had admitted that the imposition of Emergency in the 1970s was a mistake. "Those who criticise the imposition of Emergency must also recognise that she (Indira) was the first person to admit the mistake. That was a great quality of Indira Gandhi," he said.

The former Union Minister made these comments at a seminar in Hyderabad. He shared the stage with Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Maken,  Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee president Uttam Kumar Reddy and National Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Shanta Sinha, at a seminar on Indira Gandhi’s battle against impoverishment of India, in Hyderabad on Saturday. The topic for discussion was Radicalising democracy: Indira Gandhi’s Battle against Impoverishment in India. It was conducted by the Indira Gandhi Centenary Celebrations committee under the leadership of  Uttam Kumar Reddy.

 

with PTI inputs 

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