"Prohibited Dev Anand, Kishore Kumar ...": PM criticizes Congress on emergency

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi attacked the Congress in the Rajya Sabha for "pretending" to believe in the Constitution, while being the only party whose top leader imposed Emergency in 1975 and jailed opponents.


PM Modi narrated a long list of what he called actions that violated the Constitution, referring to the Emergency imposed by former prime minister and Congress leader Indira Gandhi.


"The word Constitution does not suit the Congress as it handcuffed and chained leaders like George Fernandes during the Emergency," PM Modi said.


He alleged the Congress never honoured the Constitution, and the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru also did not allow freedom of speech to thrive.


"India's intellectuals were handcuffed during the Emergency," PM Modi said. "The Congress party banned Dev Anand's films and Kishore Kumar's songs during the Emergency."


Actor Dev Anand led a group of film stars and protested against Indira Gandhi's harsh move, while singer Kishore Kumar refused to spread pro-government propaganda. The Indira Gandhi government banned Kishore Kumar from state-owned Akashvani and Doordarshan, the only two well-known outlets available at that time for artists.