CNN-IBN

Lucknow, Jun 27: Mahatma Gandhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose were freedom fighters; they fought the British. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav is extending the logic: He says people who were imprisoned for opposing the Emergency are freedom fighters too.

Yadav has announced people who were imprisoned in the state under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the 1975 Emergency would be given a monthly honorarium of Rs 500 and free travel in state roadways buses.

The political prisoners would be known as ‘Loktantra Senani’ (fighters for democracy), he said at a function to felicitate them in Lucknow on Monday. The former prisoners thanked the CM for his schemes.

"1975 se 2006 ho gaya hai par kisi ne nahin socha hamare barein me," said Keshav Prasad, a RSS worker (No one has given a thought to us since Emergency). Prasad was one of the many Jan Sangh workers who were imprisoned during the Emergency.

Mulayam promised more for the political prisoners if he was voted back to power. “Kahin dobara aya gai to jayada suvidhan doonga,” he said. (If I come back to power again, I will provide you with more facilities)

The state government will also award certificates to 5,000 Emergency fighters. Mulayam knows that by raking up a sensitive issue like the emergency he can arouse passions against the Congress, his chief adversary.

As former prisoner Ram Tej Yadav said: "If our fathers fought for the freedom of the country, we fought against the Congress."

This just the latest gift announced Mulayam has announced. He has already promised a monthly allowance of Rs 500 to the state’s unemployed youth.

One thing hasn’t been made clear about the schemes for Emergency prisoners: Can BJP leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani apply too?