Opposition slams 'bias' in Bengal tribute to 330 Emergency detainees

A long time ago, in 1975, India had a very serious time called the Emergency, when the government sent many people to jail.

Many years later, the government of West Bengal decided to give a special honour to people who were jailed during that time.

It gave shiny copper plaques to 330 people at a big ceremony in Nabanna.

Each honoured person was promised 10,000 rupees every month, help with doctor bills, and free rides on state buses.

But in one district, Murshidabad, only 16 people got the honour, even though hundreds of political workers were jailed there back then.

Some very old people who were jailed, like an 83-year-old former teacher named Harun al-Rashid, say they were forgotten.

He says he was arrested just because he was active in Left politics, and he had not committed any crime.

Opposition leaders from the CPM and Congress complain that the list is unfair and full of political bias.

They say people who actually supported the Emergency were honoured, while those who fought against it were left out.

The government says it is honouring people who bravely defended democracy.