Mangaluru: Rajya Sabha member B K Hariprasad said the contribution of former prime minister Indira Gandhi’s contribution to the development of the country cannot be ignored, even if the political parties at the Centre do not agree to this view.

He was delivering the keynote address during an international conference on ‘Indira Gandhi – a Visionary, Revisiting Her Policies and Their Impact,’ organised by St Agnes College’s Departments of History, Economics and Political Science on the college premises on Monday.

Hariprasad said Indira Gandhi coined the slogan ‘Garibi Hatao’ for the eradication of poverty and implemented the 20-point programme, which is relevant even to this day.

“It was due to Indira’s efforts that the word ‘secular’ was added to the Preamble of the Constitution of India. She believed in the principle of all religion harmony (Sarva Dharma Sama Bhava),” he recalled.

“India was the strongest propagator of non-aligned movement during her times,” he said.

“In 1966, the country had to face serious problems of hunger. Indira Gandhi took a concrete step for prioritising agriculture, which led to Green Revolution.

Owing to her efforts, the country became self-dependent in food production. India is now among the largest producers of rice, wheat and milk. Indira Gandhi also safeguarded the interests of the farming sector by implementing the law, providing land to the tillers,” he explained.

“She took the bold decision of nationalisation of banks. Due to this, India did not encounter the drastic impact of financial recession a few years ago, as the Indian economy was stable during the UPA’s tenure. But today, the situation is exactly the opposite,” he charged.

“She also scrapped the privy purse of the royal families which was paid to the erstwhile rulers, from people’s money.She accommodated 10 million Bangla refugees, provided them shelter in India and later sent them back once the peace was restored in Bangladesh,” he noted.

Hariprasad said that her journey in the political field was a walk on the sword. She had to pay heavy prices. The pro-capitalist leaders, who were against the nationalisation of banks and cancellation of privy purse, moved away from Congress and the party was split.

“Many criticisms have come in for the emergency rule imposed during her tenure. But, one must note that Indira Gandhi was graceful enough to admit that it was a wrong decision,” he said.

When Indira Gandhi faced an internal security problem in Punjab, she took a bold decision to save the country from disaster. Even though the Intelligence Department told her to keep off Sikh security guards, she refused to do so as she respected the people’s opinion.

St Agnes College Principal Sr Dr Jeswina presided over the programme. St Agnes College Managing Committee Joint Secretary Sr Dr Maria Roopa, Vice Principal Sr Dr Venissa, Political Science Department Head and Convener of the programme Chandramohan Marathe, History Department Head and programme Organising Secretary Meera were present.