India News | Went to Jail at 16 During Emergency, Says Shivraj Singh Chouhan

New Delhi, Jun 25 (PTI) As the country on Wednesday marked 50 years of imposition of Emergency in 1975, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said he also went to jail in that period as a 16-year-old.

The Union minister, who had been the Madhya Pradesh CM on four occasions, said during the Emergency, there was firing in Bhopal, which killed many, and thousands were arrested.

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"The Constitution was crushed. The whole country became one big jail. And it was done just so that Indira Gandhi could protect her position (as PM)," Chouhan told media here.

Chouhan said he was a teenager at the time and was attending school in Bhopal, where he lived in a rented accommodation.

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"A protest was held in Bhopal against inflation. The then Congress government opened fire, resulting in the death of eight people. After that, I got involved in the JP (Jay Prakash) movement," he said.

Chouhan mentioned that he was actively involved in circulating pamphlets against Emergency, which brought the police to his doorstep.

"Police knocked on my door at 11 pm. I was studying at that time. They asked if I was Shivraj Singh Chouhan; I replied in affirmative," he said.

Chouhan said he was slapped, dragged and then detained and beaten up by the police. He said there was pressure on him to reveal the names of the people who gave him the pamphlets, but he refused.

"They hit me on the ankles and elbows. It hurts at times, even now... They also threatened me," he said.

"The next morning, they took me to a Magistrate's residence... I don't know what the Magistrate wrote; I was sent to jail..." he said.

He said when he was being taken for remand, appearing dishevelled and dirty, some passersby appeared to assume he was a thief. He pointed out that that was when he started raising slogans against Emergency.

"I started raising slogans, 'We will not bow to atrocities"," he said.

He was later taken to the jail in Bhopal in an auto and was arrested under the Defence of India Act (DIR).

He said he had to miss his board exams due to the arrest and later joined the campaign of Janata Party candidate Babulal Gaur in the elections, he added.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)