Offered freedom from jail in exchange for confession during Emergency, I refused: Governor Bandaru Dattatreya

Chandigarh, June 25

On the anniversary of the Emergency, Governor Bandaru Dattatreya today revealed that during his imprisonment in Hyderabad, he was offered freedom from jail if he confessed, but he refused.

Dattatreya was lodged in Chanchalguda Central Prison in Hyderabad under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency.

Asked my mother’s opinion

My mother asked me if I was keen on signing the letter. I asked her suggestion, to which she said I should not as I was not guilty of committing any wrong. I told my mother that she was right and I would not sign any letter. Bandaru Dattatreya, Governer

Dattatreya said his maternal uncle, who was a close friend of a local Congress MLA and the then Mayor of Hyderabad, had sent his mother to visit Dattatreya to talk to him and ask him if he would sign a confession letter with the promise that he would never indulge in acts against the government in the future.

It would have fetched Dattatreya freedom from jail.

“My mother, a small onion vendor, was not educated, but she had a rich character, self-respect and self-confidence. She told my maternal uncle that her son will not confess as he had done nothing wrong,” said Dattatreya.

She asked my maternal uncle and his friends: “Has my son committed any theft? Has my son eloped with any girl? My son is innocent. He is in jail for the sake of the country.”

“My mother asked me if I was keen to sign the letter. I asked her suggestion. She said I should not as I was not guilty of committing any wrong. Our conversation took place in the presence of a member of the special branch of the Police Department. I told my mother that she was right and I would not sign any letter,” Dattatreya said.

“This made my mother very happy. She was proud of what I did for the country. This made me very happy as well. Her words and support gave me a lot of confidence to stand up against challenges and hardships. One should never compromise with self-respect, whatever be the circumstances,” said Dattatreya, in a release from the Governor’s House.