There was a total erosion of values in public life during the emergency, said Venkaiah Naidu.
New Delhi:
Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu said Thursday that house arrest to deal with the increase in COVID-19 cases was legitimate, but that the 1975 emergency was “illegitimate” because the people were deprived of all their fundamental rights.
“What is the value of life if there is no right to life,” he said in a Facebook article.
“If the current confinement was caused by a coronavirus, the one I am talking about was triggered by rampant corruption in public life and national resentment against the same,” he said.
He said that three months ago, people volunteered to stay at home to ward off the imminent threat of the coronavirus.
“We preferred to hide and restrict our movements for the good of all. During this short period, we have realized what it means to be confined. This lawful confinement contrasts sharply with that which the nation has suffered to date 45 years back in the name of an artificial threat to the security of the country against internal unrest, “said Mr. Naidu.
During this “illegitimate detention” for a long period of 21 months, citizens were deprived of all fundamental rights, including the right to life, he said.
There has been a total erosion of values in public life, he said, adding that corruption was rampant.
“Intolerance of a different opinion reached its peak. All of this was a manifestation of insecurity. The Constitution was almost abandoned. The right of judicial review of government decisions has been removed,” wrote the vice president. in his Facebook post.
In a nutshell, said Mr. Naidu, it was total darkness.
Recalling his days in prison, he said that the detention had resulted in extensive political education through individual and group discussions, question and answer sessions.
“This contrasts with online education, which is characteristic of the current corona-induced confinement,” he said.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
