Not situation, leader's mindset leads to Emergency: Shah
Ahmedabad, June 26: Marking the 43rd anniversary of Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 as a "Black Day", BJP President Amit Shah on Tuesday said mindset of the leaders and not the prevailing situations lead to an Emergency.
"Emergency does not come because of situations and ordinances, it comes due to the mindset of the leader. Ordinance is just the clothing in which it comes. Only those who do not believe in democracy can think about Emergency," he said addressing party workers here.
Shah said BJP governments too came and went away but the thought of Emergency never crossed their mind.
"We have lost our government for one vote, lost our government in 13 days but never thought about an Emergency. And, when Congress leaders raise concerns about freedom of speech, I urge them to look back when their forefathers crushed democracy in the country," he said.
Congress, which killed internal democracy for dynastic politics, is in no position to promote democracy in the country, Shah said, adding that the party introduced three evils in the country's politics - dynasty, casteism and appeasement - and these led to the Emergency.
"I strongly feel Congress and family members of Indira Gandhi do not have any right to talk about freedom of speech. They jailed 140,000 people for 19 months, put restrictions on all newspapers, Akashwani (All India Radio) had become Sarkarwani (government's mouthpiece)."
Shah said India gave the first republic to the world and it was Congress' Indira Gandhi who first attempted to destroy the country's democracy by imposing Emergency, by using Article 356 to topple opposition governments in the states and by muzzling media and people's voices.
"Emergency is remembered in many ways including as a struggle against the mindset to scuttle democracy. But I wish to say democracy is so deep-rooted in the country that even 100 Indira Gandhis would have failed to wipe out democracy from the country," he said.
Congress leaders who raise questions about freedom of speech should read about the history of June 26, 1975 to understand how their party misused power to destroy the constitutional institutions of the country and what led to the fall of Congress, once a large party, he said.
Shah said it was the responsibility of all who want to protect the country's democracy to strengthen the BJP which is neither a party that follows dynastic politics nor casteism or appeasement.
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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.
