Situation now worse than during Emergency: Congress
New Delhi, June 25: Noting former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had publicly condemned the excesses during Emergency several times, the Congress on Monday said that the current situation in the country is worse than what it was during that time.
Referring the Facebook posts by Union Minister Arun Jaitley, Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said: "The situation in the country is this, only because of these blogs. We hope he recovers soon, so that he stops writing blogs and starts working."
"Even after 43 years, they (the BJP) are singing the same tune. They forget to say this that Indiraji respecting the democracy, had lifted Emergency and had conducted elections.
"We lost that election, people taught us a lesson. Indiraji and Congress accepted the mandate of the people. Janata Party formed the government," he added.
Surjewala also noted that after having seen the performance of the Janata government, people voted them out of power and the Indira Gandhi-led Congress came back to power.
"The then Congress President Indiraji (Gandhi) and Sonia Gandhi as party president, both have publicly said several times that excesses during Emergency was wrong. They condemned it. We have the courage to accept it that if there was any mistake anywhere..."
Surjewala also claimed the situation under any other regime or government was much better than the current situation in the country.
"I want to remind (BJP President) Amit Shah and others that even during that time the situation was not so bad as it is now. That you will be called anti-national, if you disagree. The situation was not so that one would get killed in broad daylight for their choice of food or dress one wears. And they (killers) would get protection from the government," he said.
He said that the situation now was that Dalits and Adivasis are being flogged publicly, laws pertaining to reservation and protection of Dalits are being abandoned, there is firing on farmers to kill them and a Commission report acquits the guilty and the money in the banks is being looted.
"This was not the situation during that time," he said.
Jaitley on Monday compared Indira Gandhi, who imposed Emergency, to Hitler, stating that both used the Constitution "to transform democracy into dictatorship".
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Delhi: Father, son held for killing 19-year-old woman in suspected honour killing
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a man and his son for allegedly murdering his 19-year-old daughter in west Delhi's Hari Nagar area, an official said on Friday.
The case first came to light on April 1 after a PCR call was received around 2 pm, alleging that a woman had been killed by her family members and her body was being taken for last rites, he said.
The accused, identified as Mohammad Maneer (55), a vegetable vendor, and his son Meraj Ali (19), were arrested in connection with the case, the officer said.
The victim had been in a relationship with a man from her native place for the past two years, which was opposed by her father, Maneer and brother Meraj, he said.
"When the girl did not end the relationship despite objections, the family killed her," the officer said.
On April 1, the police said that when their team reached the spot, they found that the woman's body was being taken for burial.
Acting on the input, the burial process was stopped over suspicion of honour killing.
"Police intercepted the family members and took possession of the body," he said.
Police said that the man who had made the PCR told them that the woman was in love with his cousin.
During the inquiry, police also interacted with the PCR caller, who said his cousin, a friend of the deceased, had informed him about the situation and suspected foul play, prompting him to alert the police control room.
The body of the woman was subsequently shifted to the mortuary of Deen Dayal Upadhyay Hospital for preservation and postmortem.
Police said that both the crime team and the forensic science laboratory (FSL) team were called to inspect the scene and collect evidence.
Police said that, as per the postmortem report, the cause of death was identified as smothering, indicating that the woman was suffocated.
A preliminary inquiry also revealed that the family had initiated preparations for the last rites soon after the woman's death, raising suspicion about the circumstances.
Initial investigation pointed to the family's opposition to the woman's relationship.
"The family members of the woman saw her with the man, and she was taken back home. We got to know that she was beaten up and even locked inside the house for some days," a source said.
Further investigation into the matter is underway, police added.
