June , 2006
Mulayam’s emergency
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Uttar Pradesh chief minister Mulayam Singh is a man in hurry. He is in a hurry... to dole out unemployment allowance to some 8 lakh unemployed youths of the state; to strongly back his old friend-- Sahara's chairperson Subroto Roy over the Jet-Sahara deal; to come out clear in the cases relating to his unaccounted wealth in the Supreme Court; and to provide free bus travel to those booked under MESA during India Gandhi's emergency -- all this just months before the assembly elections in the state. But amongst all controversies that Mulayam has found himself cornered in recent months... perhaps none have been more controversial than his government's recent decision to sanction Rs. 500 per month allowance and free bus travel to the victims of emergency --whom Mulayam prefers to call 'saviors of democracy'. More shocking is the comparison of these emergency heroes with our freedom fighters.....
More about Abhishek Patni
Abhishek Patni joined CNN-IBN in July 2005 and is working as a Special Correspondent in Noida. In his 15-year career, he has worked with The Pioneer, Hindustan Times, Zee News and Sahara Samay. He joined the channel as Bureau Chief in Lucknow. A keen observer of politics, Patni has covered the 1997, 1998 and 2004 Lok Sabha elections and the UP Assembly elections of 1997, 2002 and 2007. Apart from several special reports and impact stories including the Amitabh Bachchan Barabanki Land scam, Manjunath murder case and Mayawati Taj Corridor case, he's also reported live from Badrinath on the kapat opening ceremony at height of 10,800 feet in 2004. A product of St Joseph's College Nainital, he has a Masters in Modern Indian History from the DAV college, Dehradun. He also has a post-graduate diploma in journalism and mass communication from Bhartiya Vidhaya Bhawan, Lucknow. He has done an appreciation course in professional cinematography from Pune in 2001. Loves traveling, trekking, reading and writing. Is married with a son.
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