Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of the northern state of Uttar Pradesh
Credit: Reuters Photo
Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Friday paid tributes to socialist stalwart Jayaprakash Narayan on his 122nd birth anniversary, calling the anti-Emergency movement icon a "Lok Nayak" (people's leader) in the true sense of the term.
"Tributes to the great freedom fighter, great worshipper of democracy, 'Bharat Ratna' 'Loknayak' Jayaprakash Narayan on his birth anniversary!" Adityanath posted on X in Hindi.
"During Emergency, he made an unforgettable contribution in restoring democracy by awakening the democratic consciousness of the nation. He was a 'people's leader' in the true sense of the word," he added.
Uttar Pradesh Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, Deputy Chief Ministers Brajesh Pathak and Keshav Prasad Maurya, and Social Welfare Minister Asim Arun, among others, also took to social media to pay tributes to Narayan, fondly called 'JP'.
Born in 1902 in Bihar's Saran district, Narayan was a fierce socialist and freedom fighter who led a popular movement against the Indira Gandhi government's alleged corruption and repressive politics in the 70s before she imposed an Emergency.
He then united opposition parties and rallied the masses against the Congress in the first elections after the Emergency in 1977, scripting a crushing defeat for the ruling party.
He passed away in Patna on October 8, 1979.