PM Narendra Modi on Tuesday, 8 February, referenced late singers Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the president's address in the Rajya Sabha, claiming that the Congress had treated both with injustice.
"Kishore Kumar did not bow to Indira Gandhi during Emergency and he was banned from singing on radio," PM Modi claimed, adding that it is known how "freedom of expression is curbed when people don't agree to one family".
The prime minister also claimed that the Congress had committed injustice against Lata Mangeshkar's brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar and allegedly fired him from All India Radio for making a presentation on the poetry of Veer Savarkar.
"Lata Mangeshkar's family is from Goa. But what her family was subjected to, should be told to the entire nation," the prime minister began.
Lata Mangeshkar's younger brother, Pandit Hridaynath Mangeshkar ji, a proud son of Goa, was fired from All India Radio (AIR). What was his fault? He had only presented a patriotic poem by Veer Savarkar on AIR once," he continued.
"Hridaynath ji had said in an interview that when he met Savarkar and told him that he wanted to present his poem, Savarkar ji had asked him, 'Do you want to go to jail by reciting my poem?' But Hridaynath ji recited it and within eight days he was fired from AIR. This is what their (Congress') concept of freedom of expression was."PM Modi in Rajya Sabha
The prime minister's comments came during a speech in the Rajya Sabha.
PM Modi said, "India's democracy is not a favour done to the nation by the Congress, democracy and debate has always been a part of India."
His remarks against the Congress party on the lines of "what would have happened if the Congress wasn't around..." led to a ruckus in the House forcing him to briefly halt his address.
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