New Delhi, July 15 : Congress on Sunday said it was former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who had herself lifted the Emergency and apologised for the excesses committed during it.

"It was Indira Gandhi who had said that it was a painful and difficult position for her given that situation and circumstances. It was she who regretted and apologised for any excess committed," said Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma reacting to the BJP, who said freedom of expression was curbed the most during the Emergency after Congress President Rahul Gandhi accused it and the RSS of believing freedom of expression must be "policed".

"It was Indira Gandhi who lifted the Emergency and ensured free and fair elections. She accepted the verdict of the people with humility and respect in an election in which she herself lost," he said.

"The Congress was defeated and the people then saw Indira Gandhi's persecution and victimisation. Let's not forget that Indira Gandhi was re-elected to the Lok Sabha within days of frivolous charges in the Privileges Committee, which was totally controlled by her opponents.

"She was expelled from Lok Sabha and sent to the Tihar jail. That led to a national outrage and in election of 1980, people brought her back," he added.






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Bhatkal: The Karnataka unit of the All India Ideal Teachers Association (AIITA) has welcomed the Karnataka government’s decision to strictly ban school children from dancing to obscene songs during educational and cultural programmes in government, aided, and private schools across the state.

AIITA Karnataka State President M. R. Manvi congratulated the government for taking what he termed an important step to preserve the sanctity of education.

“Such decisions to safeguard the dignity of school children and uphold the values of education are the need of the hour. This rule should not be limited to government schools alone but must be strictly implemented in all private educational institutions as well,” he said.

He further urged the government to address other concerns within school programmes.

“The government should not only prohibit obscene dances in the name of school anniversaries, but also ensure that plays and dialogues that incite religious hatred are avoided. Schools should be centres of harmony, not platforms for spreading hatred,” he added.

According to a recent circular issued by the Department of School Education and Literacy, obscene dances are adversely affecting the mental health and moral values of students.

In this regard, schools have been advised to use songs that promote nationalism, positive thinking, the greatness of Kannada culture, and value-based traditions instead of inappropriate content during programmes.
The circular also emphasises that students should be dressed in decent attire.

AIITA also backed the department’s warning that disciplinary action would be taken against head teachers if such guidelines are violated. The association has further demanded that district Deputy Directors of Public Instruction strictly monitor the implementation of these rules.