Writer refuses pension for incarceration during Emergency

Marathi writer and activist Vinay Hardikar has decided not to accept the pension offered by the BJP-led Maharashtra government to those who were imprisoned during Emergency.

Hardikar, whose 1978 book 'Janancha Pravaho Chalila' is considered an authoritative commentary on Emergency, said the government's decision was "unethical" for various reasons.

Saying that the BJP could have political motives for announcing the scheme, Hardikar also pointed out that Shiv Sena, a partner in the government, had supported Emergency.

Hardikar was lodged in Yerwada jail near Pune after offering 'Satyagraha' and courting arrest in January 1976.

"I have decided not to accept the pension," he told PTI.

"There is a political side, I believe, to this announcement, which seems to be a part of the BJP president's Sampark For Samarthan drive. I do not want to fall for that," he said, referring to the party's recent outreach campaign.

The Shiv Sena, which had supported Indira Gandhi's decision to impose Emergency, is now a partner in the state government, so this offer of pension is "unethical", he said.

"The government should also clarify certain issues. One, why discriminate between the jailed persons according to the time spent in jail?