Emergency was Jallianwala Bagh of free India: Akbar
Bengaluru, June 26: Recalling the "horrors" of the era, Minister of State for External Affair M.J. Akbar on Tuesday said the 21-month Emergency from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977 was the Jallianwala Bagh of free India.
"Emergency was the Jallianwala Bagh of free India. All that Indians wanted in June 1975 was freedom and what they got was a massacre of democracy," the journalist-turned-politician told reporters at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) office here.
To ensure that the period of Emergency, which saw the arrests of several political activists and leaders of the country, does not repeat in the future, there was a need to be vigilant, he said.
"Jails that were meant for criminals turned into homes for leaders, activists and several other people of India, whose only sin was asking for a free country. To ensure that the event never repeats again, we must be vigilant," Akbar said.
The country must not forget the dark and dangerous 21 months when Emergency was imposed 43 years ago and India's freedom was destroyed, he stressed.
"Indians then did not only lose their freedom, but also lost their right to live. They lived in complete fear and the silence of censorship. It was a time when authoritarianism and dictatorship was imposed upon the country," he added.
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Karnataka fast-tracks investment approvals, cuts red tape across key clearances: Minister Patil
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister M B Patil on Saturday said the state government has fast-tracked approvals for investment projects and taken measures to cut red tape.
He said that since 2022, Karnataka has approved 2,028 projects worth Rs 5.11 lakh crore, which could create 7.16 lakh jobs.
Of these, Rs 69,564 crore has already been realised, generating 1.06 lakh jobs, he added.
“Karnataka fast-tracks approvals, cuts red tape,” the Minister for Large & Medium Industries said.
“Clear results of our government’s push to speed up approval processes are now evident. Not only have investment agreements been secured, but effective implementation is also underway,” he said in a post on X.
He added that simplified and swift approval processes are boosting investor confidence and providing greater impetus to industrial growth across the state.
“Karnataka’s investment-friendly environment is further strengthened by its culture of ease of doing business,” he said.
Noting that Karnataka is fast-tracking approvals and aligning departments and districts for on-ground delivery, the minister said: “We have overhauled 18 key approvals, cutting land use change clearance time from 120 to 45 days, fire NOC from 60 to 21 days, factory plan approvals from 30 to 14 days, and electrical approvals to just 10 days.”
In a competitive landscape, Karnataka is acting decisively to ensure faster decisions, fewer delays, and a truly pro-industry ecosystem, he added.
