Congress govt placed ‘democracy under arrest’, says PM Modi

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.

Union 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.

“This day tells us that when power becomes dictatorial, the people have the power to overthrow it,” he wrote on X in Hindi. 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.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that an undeclared emergency prevailed in the country, as he accused the BJP of staging a ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ “drama” to hide its governance failure.

Hitting back at Prime Minister Modi over his jibes at Congress, Kharge said a government which has no tolerance and does not allow fraternity and liberty to prosper has no right to lecture others.