Hyderabad: The Malkajgiri Member of Parliament Eatala Rajender participated in a “Mock Parliament” programme organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party Yuva Morcha at DPS School on Saturday.

Addressing the meeting, he said, “It has been 50 years since the Emergency was imposed. He asked the participants to remember “Without history, there is no present; without the present, there is no future. The fruits of Independence that we now enjoy did not come by chance.”

He said India’s Independence was achieved through the shedding of blood, built upon the sacrifices made by heroes like Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, Sukhdev, and Chandrashekhar.

History will never forget the Jallianwala Bagh incident. After witnessing the massacre, Bhagat Singh vowed to kill General Dyer. Even faced with a death sentence, he stood on the gallows fearless.

The Malkajgiri MP said Dr BR Ambedkar provided India with a great Constitution that embodied a humanistic approach. However, former prime minister Indira Gandhi misused that Constitution and disregarded the self-respect of the Indian nation.

“She forgot that she won power through the people’s votes. Under the guise of the Emergency, she brought dark days upon the nation. Constitutional rights were trampled, many lost their lives, and countless others disappeared. Indira Gandhi turned the country into a prison, imposing forced family planning operations and inflicting torture.”

He said that if the people were reminded of the atrocities committed during the Emergency, the Congress party will struggle to survive. “They have no moral right to hold power. The Congress party, which ridiculed the Constitution, dares to enter Parliament clutching copies of it. The Congress party has consistently undermined the legacy of Ambedkar, the architect of our Constitution.

While the Opposition should act constructively, the current leader who is damaging the self-respect of Indian citizens abroad is Congress MP Rahul Gandhi.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, people can proudly claim to be Indian no matter where they are in the world. India is set to compete with nations globally and has become the third-largest economy. “Narendra Modi has demonstrated that capable leaders can illuminate the way, while Indira Gandhi represented a dark chapter in our history.”