New Delhi: The BJP on Monday slammed the Congress over its “undeclared emergency” charge at Modi government, saying it is “deeply ironic” that the Gandhi family-dominated party that imposed Emergency in 1975 for “personal and political gain” is now speaking about democracy and freedom of speech.
This came after the Congress took a swipe at the Modi government on completing 11 years in office, saying the “undeclared Emergency” had turned 11 and the promise of “achche din” (good days) have proven to be a “nightmare” in reality.
Hitting back, senior BJP leader and a Union minister Pralhad Joshi wrote on X, “It is deeply ironic that a party dominated by a single family is now speaking about democracy and freedom of speech.”
He said this is the same Congress which misused Article 356 “over a hundred times” to topple democratically elected governments across the country when it was in power and also declared a “national Emergency for personal and political gain” in 1975, suspending fundamental rights and stripping citizens of their freedoms.
“Its own government in Karnataka has issued a gag order, eerily reminiscent of the Emergency-era tactics. And now, they are targeting and attempting to arrest journalists and news anchors who express views critical of the party,” Joshi charged.
Will Congress and the party’s president Mallikarjun Kharge throw “some lights” on these issues, he asked.
The Congress government in Karnataka has decided to initiate a defamation case against the state BJP for allegedly indulging in false propaganda about its performance.
The government in an official notification issued on Sunday has cited, alleged misinformation, distortion and lies by BJP through its campaign in visual media and print media under the title — “charge sheet about two years failure of the state government”.
The BJP accused the Congress of silencing the voice of the people in Karnataka, with Union minister Pralhad Joshi saying the state government is acting “worse than any dictator”.
In a post on X, Joshi claimed that the Congress government is trying to “intimidate” news channel anchors and asked the ruling party why talking about its “failures, corruption and the damage” to Karnataka’s economy and politics scares it.
“A question is troubling me – has Karnataka turned into a dictatorship like Hitler’s time?” the Union minister asked.
With the Modi government completing 11 years in office, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X, “Today is May 26, 2025. Today is Undeclared Emergency @ 11.”
Kharge claimed that every section of the 140 crore people remained “troubled” in the last 11 years.
“26 May 2014 – In 11 years, by turning big ‘promises’ into ’empty claims’, the Modi government has ruined the country in such a way that the promise of ‘achche din’ has now proven to be a ‘nightmare’,” the Congress president said in a post in Hindi on X.
It was on this day in 2014 when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took oath for the very first time. He took oath for a third term as the prime minister on June 9 last year.
