NEW DELHI: Union Home minister Amit Shah spoke at a serious gathering in the national capital today on the day of ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of emergency imposition in India.
Held in New Delhi, the event was also graced by Union minister Ashwini Vaishnav, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, and other dignitaries.
Addressing the audience as the Chief Guest, Amit Shah mentioned that though unfortunate personal
experiences are forgotten, events having an impact on national and social life have to be remembered so as never to be repeated again.
He said that with this aim in perspective, PM Narendra Modi decided that from now on, June 25 should be celebrated every year as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’, and the Home Ministry released a formal notification.
Shah termed the Emergency of 1975 as a time when India was converted into a jail.
“The soul of the country was muzzled, courts were rendered deaf, and pens of writers were deprived of ink,” he stated. Describing the events which led to the Emergency, Shah stated that on 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High
Court declared the then Prime Minister’s election null and void and prohibited her from seeking election for the next six years.
At the same time, the success of the Janata Morcha in Gujarat heralded an increasing opposition challenge for which the Emergency was clamped under the pretext of national security.