Assam to provide monthly pension of Rs 15,000 to 301 persons jailed during the Emergency

The BJP-led government in Assam will provide a monthly pension of Rs 15,000 to 301 persons who were jailed during the Emergency, which it called a dark chapter in the country's democracy.

This was decided in the meeting of the state Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Wednesday evening, here.

Ashok Singhal, a minister in the Sarma cabinet said although some other states provided the Loktantra Senani pension to those who were jailed during the Emergency, the amount decided by the Assam government would be the highest amount.

Also Read: Assam CM Himanta to file defamation case against Rahul over 'Adani' tweet

"If the person has already died, his wife will get the pension every month. But if both husband and wife have died, their daughter will get the pension. In Assam, we have identified 301 such persons who had fought for protection of the democracy during the Emergency and were jailed," Singhal told reporters after the Cabinet meeting.

The Emergency was declared in June, 1975, when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister and continued for 21 months. Internal disturbance was cited by the Congress government as the reason for declaring the Emergency.

Calling the Emergency as dark days, CM Sarma on Thursday morning tweeted, "We can never forget the dark days of Emergency. There was a systematic destruction of every institution and blatant misuse of agencies."

This decision of the Assam Cabinet is a mark of gratitude to the brave soldiers of democracy who risked everything to uphold the Constitution, the tweet said.