'India turned into a jailkhana': PM Modi recalls Emergency days on Mann Ki Baat

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday talked about the “dark days” of the Emergency declared in 1975 when he addressed the nation through his radio programme Mann Ki Baat.

“Sometimes, people make fun of Mann Ki Baat. But this is possible only because of democracy,” said Modi.

“26 June, 1975 was a dark day for democracy in India. The country was turned into a jailkhana,” the Prime Minister said. “The rights of citizens were taken away. Many political leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan were put behind bars,” he said.

“We must not forget that our power is democracy. Our power lies in every citizen’s strength,” Modi said. “We should keep reminding the people about their power in a democracy. We should unite the people,” he added.

“There was a day when the voice of people was trampled over but now, that voice is given encouragement and people of India express their views on how the government is performing,” the PM said.

“There was a time when the taxes used to be so overwhelming that tax evasion had become a natural behaviour,” he said.

Tax evasion

This brought PM Modi to the topic of tax evasion. “We lose our peace by violating rules. Why not give correct information about income and assets to the government?” he said.

He then said that people with undisclosed incomes and assets had “an opportunity to declare their assets before 30 September.”

“There are only 1.5 lakh people in the country whose taxable income is over Rs 50 lakh…Get free of your earlier dues once and for all by giving correct information about your income and property to the government,” Modi said.

He also gave an example of a retired government employee called Chandrakant Kulkarni who donated almost a third of his pension for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan. “Chandrakant, who gets Rs 16,000 as pension, wrote to me and pledged to donate Rs 5,000 every month for Swachhta Abhiyan,” he said.

“Today, it is not difficult to connect tax payers with the government. Yet old habits die hard,” he said. “Those who do not disclose undisclosed income by September 30 will face difficulties,” he added.

Isro and Indian scientists

PM Modi also congratulated Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) scientists for launching 20 satellites in one go. “It is a matter of great pride that Isro scientists launched 20 satellites in one go…Isro has got a special place in the world. That is why the world is looking towards India when it comes to space research,” he said.

Saying that the scientists had predicted a good amount of rainfall for India this year, Modi added, “Our scientists are constantly contributing to the nation. I wish more of our youth become scientists.”

“Yesterday, I was in Pune where I met students who made one of the satellites that was launched along with others. This satellite signifies the skills and aspirations of the youth of India,” he said.

First batch of women fighter pilots

Modi also praised the first batch of India’s women fighter pilots. “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao has touched so many lives. The results of the various examinations show how women are excelling,” he said. “The three women fighter pilots — Avani Chaturvedi, Bhawana Kanth and Mohana Singh — have made us all very proud,” he added.

Yoga

The Prime Minister also talked about yoga and International Yoga Day. “When the world connects with us through yoga, it feels that the world is connecting with our past, present and future,” he said. “Twitter used the yoga emoji for this year’s International Yoga Day. Yoga has the power to unite the world,” he added. He also talked about how the image of a yoga posture projected onto the United Nations headquarters filled him with pride.

Modi then called for a programme to battle diabetes with yoga. “Can’t we run a successful abhiyan to fight diabetes with yoga?” he said. “Please use #YogaFightsDiabetes to share your own experiences about yoga against diabetes,” he said.