Prabir Purkayastha, a leftist who was in jail with Murli Manohar Joshi during the Emergency, has declined the invitation to an event in which those who fought the Emergency are scheduled to be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday.

Speaking to The Sunday Express, he said, “The country is witnessing an Emergency-like situation, especially for certain communities like Muslims and minorities. Unless we address this Emergency, there is no point talking about the other Emergency.”

In a statement, he said: “The Emergency created a culture of subservience to power. Political thuggery, backed by the repressive organs of the state, ruled the people’s lives. Today, the ruling party and organisations from the so-called parivar, incite communal attacks; they are creating a climate in which attacks such as those in Muzaffarnagar, Dadri, and Mainpuri can take place. Indian citizens are attacked for what they believe, think or say, even what they eat.”

“What we have today is more sinister than the Emergency. The ruling party has a clear agenda: remaking the nation we built when we won freedom,” he said.

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