New Delhi: Recalling the Emergency in 1975 as a black period for the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that the people in India have always given priority to democracy.
"Very often 'Mann Ki Baat' is criticised, but this is possible because we are in a democracy. Do you remember June 25-26, 1975... it was the darkest night for democracy. Democracy is our strength and we will have to always make our democratic fabric stronger," Prime Minister Modi said while addressing the nation in the 21st edition of his ' Mann Ki Baat' programme.
Stating that though the people were enjoying complete democracy now, Prime Minister Modi said there was a time in 1975 when the freedom of the people were curbed and 1,000 of political activists and student leaders were imprisoned without any reason.
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"People's participation is essential in a democracy. I am happy that people in my country have always given importance to democracy. There was a day when voice of people was trampled over but now, the people of India express their views how the Government is doing," he added.
Modi also congratulated and lauded the efforts of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for launching as many as 20 satellites and said this signified the skills and aspirations of the youth. He stated that the academic satellite is a classic example of high ambitions of the Indian youth.
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"Yesterday I was in Pune where I met the college students, who made one of the satellites that was launched along with others a few days ago. This satellite signifies the skills and aspirations of the youth of India. Academic satellite is a classic example of high ambitions of the Indian youth. Similar work was done by the students from Chennai. The two satellites built by the students and launched by ISRO are very important and special for me," he added.
Prime Minister Modi also compared the efforts of the scientists with that of the farmers.
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"For the last few weeks, we have got positive news about rainfall in various parts of the nation. Like our farmers, our scientists are working very hard and making our nation very proud," he added.
Prime Minister Modi yesterday met the students of College of Engineering in Pune. The youngsters had created a satellite that was among the recently launched 20 satellites by ISRO.
