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Observing 50 years of the Emergency, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the entire exercise was meant to break the morale of the country and society.
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar speaks during a mock Parliament session organised by the BJP to mark 50 years of the Emergency. (PTI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday lashed out at the Gandhi family for the emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, saying it happened because “a single family considered itself bigger than the nation.”
Speaking at the inaugural event of the Mock Parliament by the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to mark 50 years of Emergency, Jaishankar said, “All this happened because of one family. There’s a movie titled ‘Kissa Kursi Ka’, and these three words aptly tell the reason behind the imposition of the Emergency. When a family is considered above the nation, things like the Emergency take place.”
“The one lesson that Emergency taught us is – never take freedom for granted,” he further said.
The minister said the entire exercise of imposing the Emergency was intended to break the morale of the country and society, impacting several people who were not even in politics. “Those who were in politics were well aware that doing politics meant an inevitable arrest, and those who were arrested were unaware if and when they would be released.”
He also said the then-Congress government became rapidly unpopular after winning the 1971 elections, while corruption and inflation increased. “People were angry. Agitations were going on in Gujarat and Bihar… People were raising questions on the business of the then ‘yuvraj’. Based on the verdict of the Allahabad High Court, the then Prime Minister was charged with two cases- corrupt practices and misuse of government machinery.”
After the court ruled against her, Indira Gandhi arbitrarily imposed the Emergency, passed by then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, where civil liberties were suspended, strict censorship was enforced and critics of the government were detained. The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975, is known as the “darkest day” of Indian democracy.
In a thinly veiled attack towards Rahul Gandhi, Jaishankar said some people are carrying the Constitution on their hands but their intentions are different. “Political parties also have their own DNA. And the DNA of this party has never shown regret for the Emergency or admitted that the decisions taken were wrong,” he added.
This year marks 50 years of the Emergency. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed that all legal records pertaining to the period of Emergency be prepared and preserved for posterity.
“The people of India mark this day as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas. On this day, the values enshrined in the Indian Constitution were set aside, fundamental rights were suspended, press freedom was extinguished and several political leaders, social workers, students and ordinary citizens were jailed. It was as if the Congress Government in power at that time placed democracy under arrest,” he said.
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
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