By Admin 
Emergency was going on. All the big leaders of the opposition were either jailed or under house arrest. By 1976, Indira Gandhi started considering holding elections in the country. For this, he started contacting the jailed leaders Chaudhary Charan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandrashekhar. She wanted the leaders of the opposition not to come out of jail and make inflammatory rhetoric against him so that the situation does not worsen. First, Indira Gandhi contacted Satyapal Malik, considered close to Charan Singh.
By the end of 1976, many of them were in mood to reconcile. Satyapal Malik said that Indira Gandhi had reached an agreement with Charan Singh in March 1976, after which the farmer leader was released on March 7, 1976.
When Indira sent a message to Charan Singh through Satyapal Malik
Senior journalist Neerja Chaudhary has written in his book ‘How Prime Minister Dyside’ that Indira Gandhi tried to bring a person with a harsh nature like Charan Singh, who was his most bitter critic, through Satyapal Malik. In February 1976, he transferred Satyapal Malik from Fatehgarh jail to Tihar Jail. According to Malik, when he reached Tihar Jail, he was taken directly to the jail superintendent’s room. He was surprised to see that HKL Bhagat, one of the leaders of Congress leader and close to Indira Gandhi, was waiting for him.
HKL Bhagat told Satyapal Malik that you will be kept in the cell next to Charan Singh, you should talk to them. He said to Malik, ‘The Prime Minister wants to hold elections and release opposition leaders. But they do not come out and fuss. Malik said about Charan Singh that he is not against this idea.
You go and meet Indira yourself- Charan Singh spoke to Satyapal
When Satyapal Malik told Charan Singh about HKL Bhagat, he warned Satyapal and said, ‘I do not trust Bhagat. You should get yourself released before these people and then go and talk to Indira Gandhi yourself.
Satyapal Malik was released and met Indira Gandhi. Indira told Malik about Charan Singh, ‘We raise their hands towards them, but they put their hands back.’
Many leaders released with Charan Singh
After the meeting with Indira Gandhi, when Satyapal Malik came in jail and told Charan Singh, he said that I will not be released alone. 4-5 people should also be released with me. Therefore, along with Charan Singh, other leaders like Biju Patnaik, Pilu Modi were also released from jail.
According to Malik, after the release, Charan Singh was stuck on his promise that he would not publicly attack Indira Gandhi. Only once he was emotional and a few weeks after his release, on 23 March 1976, a speech was given for four hours in Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly and Indira Gandhi for four hours of imprisoning one lakh people.
Indira Gandhi announced to hold elections in the country
Similarly, Indira Gandhi also sent his confidants to Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Chandrashekhar and asked him to maintain peace, after which the jailed opposition leaders were released from jail. On 18 January 1977, Indira Gandhi announced the elections, after which elections were held in the country and Indira Gandhi lost this election. The Janata Party won this election and Morarji Desai became the next Prime Minister of the country.