New Delhi: As the country commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted it was one of the “darkest chapters” in India’s democratic history and slammed the then Congress government, saying it placed “democracy under arrest.”
Top leaders of the BJP and key ally JD(U) led the charge against the Congress with Modi saying no Indian will ever forget the manner in which the spirit of the Constitution was violated during the Emergency. The prime minister also affirmed his government’s commitment to strengthening constitutional principles.
The Union Cabinet at its meeting presided by Prime Minister Modi adopted a resolution against the Emergency and resolved to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless individuals who valiantly resisted the measure and its attempt at subversion of the spirit of the Indian Constitution. It also observed a two-minute silence as a mark of tribute to them.
The Congress on its part launched a counter attack on the Modi government, alleging that over the past eleven years, Indian democracy has been under a “systematic and dangerous” five-fold assault that can be best described as “Undeclared Emergency@11”.
Coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, a book which highlights Modi’s fight for “the ideals of democracy” was released by Home Minister Amit Shah. ‘The Emergency Diaries – Years that Forged a Leader’ is published by BlueKraft.
In a series of posts on X, Modi said the Emergency was one of the darkest chapters in India’s democratic history.
The values enshrined in the Constitution were set aside, fundamental rights suspended, press freedom extinguished and a large number of political leaders, social workers, students and ordinary citizens jailed, he noted.
“It was as if the Congress Government in power at that time placed democracy under arrest.”
Saluting every person who stood firm in the fight against the Emergency, Modi said these were the people from all over India, from all walks of life, from diverse ideologies who worked closely with each other with one aim: to protect India’s democratic fabric and to preserve the ideals for which freedom fighters devoted their lives.
“It was their collective struggle that ensured that the then Congress Government had to restore democracy and call for fresh elections, which they badly lost,” he said.
Home Minister Shah said the Emergency was not a national necessity but a reflection of the anti-democratic mentality of the Congress and “just one person”, a reference to then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Paying tributes to those who suffered after the imposition of Emergency, Shah said the day reminds everyone that when those in power become dictatorial, the people have the power to overthrow them.
The home minister said the Emergency was the “Age of Injustice of Congress’ hunger for power”.
The Modi government observes June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ so that the new generation is made aware of the pain and torture that the countrymen faced during the Emergency, he said.
“This day tells us that when power becomes dictatorial, the people have the power to overthrow it,” he wrote on X in Hindi.
Later, Shah in his address at an event said memories of the Emergency must be kept alive so that no one can impose dictatorial thoughts on the country.
On June 25, 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced the imposition of the Emergency in a broadcast on All India Radio, shortly after the Supreme Court granted a conditional stay to an Allahabad High Court verdict declaring her election to the Lok Sabha null and void. It was lifted on March 21, 1977.
“It is as important for the young as it is for the old to draw inspiration from those who resisted dictatorial tendencies and stood firm to defend our Constitution and its democratic fabric,” Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said while reading out the Cabinet resolution at a media briefing.
