New Delhi: Union Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday trained his gun against the Congress party and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi saying that she was perturbed by the agitation led by Jayaprakash Narayan. Shah made the statement while addressing a rally at Sitab Diara, the birthplace of Narayan — popularly known as JP — in Bihar's Saran district after unveiling a 15-feet high statue of the socialist icon.
“The biggest contribution of Jayaprakash Narayan was when he started a massive agitation against corruption and against a government drunk in power that imposed Emergency in the 70s,” he said, quoted by the news agency.
“In 1973, under Indira ji's leadership, Gujarat had a Congress government with Chiman Patel as CM. Indira ji publicly gave the task of collecting money to govts, corruption started. Students in Gujarat protested and this agitation was led by Jayaprakash Narayan. It changed the government in Gujarat,” he added.
“He then started a movement in Bihar. Seeing this movement, the rally at Gandhi Maidan in Bihar, Indira Gandhi was perturbed. The PM of the nation was forced to impose Emergency in the country and put Jay Prakash Narayan in jail,” Shah said.
In a veiled attack, Shah also targeted the Mahagathbandhan government in Bihar saying that those who claim themselves disciples of Jayaprakash Narayan have sacrificed his socialist ideology.
"He is power hungry, and for power, he sacrificed JP's ideologies and joined hands with the Congress. He has nothing to do with the ideologies of JP," Shah said, in an apparent reference to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who dumped the BJP to form a new seven-party coalition government.
"Only Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working for the poor and the weaker sections of the society, for whom JP was concerned," Shah said in his brief speech, quoted by news agency PTI.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI)