Rahul Gandhi: Candid

Lucknow, Oct. 14: The national broadcaster was gagged over the Emergency, but what about Rahul Gandhi?

The first-time Congress MP from Amethi admitted in his constituency yesterday that there were ?excesses?, two days after Prasar Bharati dropped plans to show a two-hour film on Jai Prakash Narayan because of ?objectionable parts? relating to the Emergency.

The cancellation of the show on Doordarshan scheduled for October 11 ? following a preview by a panel of officials from Prasar Bharati and the information and broadcasting ministry ? had sparked protests from leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav.

Pressed by reporters at the Munshiganj guesthouse in Amethi, Rahul said it was a ?very complicated? situation during the Emergency. Perhaps, it was the need of the hour, he observed in a reflective mood.

But then he added: ?There were excesses during the period that were wrong.?

His grandmother, late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, had imposed Emergency in 1975. Narayan had revolted against it and united the Opposition parties under the Janata Party banner to defeat her in the following election.

The Congress downplayed Rahul?s admission, saying the ?era is over? and ?we had accepted? people?s ?punishment? in the 1977 polls, reports PTI.

The film made for the culture ministry has been sent back to the director, Prakash Jha, with ?12 suggestions? to ?improve it? as it was found to be ?one-sided?. Prasar Bharati CEO K.S. Sarma had said Jha has been given a three-month notice to make the changes.

In Mumbai, Jha today declined ?to do anything of this sort?.

On Tuesday, chief minister Mulayam Singh said the Uttar Pradesh government would organise a screening of the film if the Centre did not show it. He was speaking at the foundation-laying ceremony of Lohia Park here.

?How can I, like many other leaders, forget the days of the Emergency?? asked Mulayam Singh, who was arrested for his participation in the anti-Emergency movement.

National Democratic Alliance convener George Fernandes had described the film cancellation as highly disturbing. ?It shows in which direction the country is heading,? he had said.

The flak notwithstanding, Rahul was in no mood to go soft on Mulayam Singh. He said the ruling Samajwadi Party in the state had failed on all fronts. ?There is no law and order, no power and no development.?

The Congress MP rejected charges that his party-led Centre was being stepmotherly towards Uttar Pradesh by not releasing power for the state. ?The fact is that the state government has no money to buy power,? Rahul said.

Rahul left for Delhi early this morning after a four-day tour of his constituency.