In his attempt to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra minister and NCP leader Jitendra Awhad on Wednesday targeted former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saying she had also strangulated democracy but was ultimately defeated.
Equating current government's authoritarianism, Awhad said, "Indira Gandhi had also strangulated democracy, nobody was ready to speak against her. Then, students from Ahmedabad and Patna protested and Jaiprakash Narayan movement started leading to her defeat. This history will be repeated in Maharashtra and the country."
Students movement had led Indira Gandhi to impose Emergency in the country which later became the reason for India to unite against her. She was defeated in the 1977 general elections.
His remarks were made in reference to ongoing protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC), mostly being led by women and students.
He was speaking at a rally in Maharashtra's Beed district, also attended by former Bombay High Court judge justice BG Kolse Patil, activists Teesta Setalwad and Muslim Personal Law Board member Maulana Abu Talib Rahmani.
Awhad's statement on Indiara Gandhi is likely to elicit an angry response from the Congress party which rules Maharashtra with the NCP and the Shiv Sena.
He referred to the Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah's regime as 'Hitler Shahi'
Massive protests against the CAA and NRC have emerged across the country with students taking a lead in the movement. The new citizenship law promises citizenship to members of 6 non-Muslim communities from Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh who entered India before December 31, 2014.
Critics say that the new law is against the secular nature of the Indian Constitution and clubbed with the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) may be misused to strip away some Muslims' citizenship in the country. The BJP, however, has argued that the law has nothing to do with India's Muslims and only helps those who fled religious persecution in the neighbouring countries.
