New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Union Minister Amit Shah on Thursday targeted Congress on the anniversary of the proclamation of the 1975 Emergency, calling it a period of “arrogance and greed for power.”
In an X post, Shah asserted that the Narendra Modi-led government observes June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to keep the Emergency alive in the public’s memory.
“June 25, 1975, is that dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy, when the arrogance and greed for power of Indira Gandhi and the Congress Party attempted to crush the soul of the Constitution, the freedom of the press, and the right to expression. On the occasion of ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’, I pay my respectful homage to all those warriors of democracy who fought against the Emergency to protect democratic values,” Shah wrote.
“The purpose of the Modi government observing 25 June as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ is to keep this dark chapter alive in the nation’s memory and to ensure that the Congress Party can never again inflict such an assault on democracy and the Constitution in the future,” the post read.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Union Minister JP Nadda said that the then-Congress government imposed Emergency to “safeguard the political interests of one family.”
Nadda posted on X, “June 25, 1975, stands as that dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy, when the Congress party imposed Emergency on the entire nation to safeguard the political interests of one family. In the arrogance of power, the soul of the Constitution was throttled, democracy was imprisoned, opposition leaders of that time were thrown into jails, and locks were placed on the freedom of expression.”
He termed Emergency as the “greatest atrocity inflicted on the people of India.”
The BJP leader added, “The dictatorial mindset of the Congress during that era had proven that for them, the interests of one family were above the nation and democracy. The Emergency was the greatest democratic atrocity inflicted on the people of India, which the country can never forget. Under the leadership of the Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi ji, the NDA government has taken the historic decision to observe 25 June as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to carry this dark chapter to future generations and to honour the tortures, struggles, and sacrifices of millions of fighters who struggled for democracy. History never forgives those who attack democracy. ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ is its greatest proof.”
“Today, on Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, I pay my countless salutations to all those democracy fighters, satyagrahis, and patriots who, despite enduring atrocities, did not bow down before the dictatorship of the Congress,” Nadda stated on X.
On June 25, 1975, the then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued the Emergency Proclamation under Article 352, citing “internal disturbance.”
India was placed under an Emergency between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is widely criticised for the suspension of fundamental rights during the period, and for arresting opposition leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, under the stringent Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). JP Narayan had led the Sampoorn Kranti Bihar Movement against the Congress government in the 1970s.
As per the Shah Commission reports, the period witnessed mass detention, a sterilisation drive, and censorship of the press.
The BJP marks June 25 as “Samvidhan Hatya Diwas”. (ANI)
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