New Delhi:

Keeping up its attack on the Congress over the Emergency, the government announced on Friday that June 25 will be observed every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’, which loosely translates to ‘the day the Constitution was killed’. 

Making the announcement on X, Home Minister Amit Shah posted a gazette notification and wrote, “On June 25, 1975, the then PM Indira Gandhi, in a brazen display of a dictatorial mindset, strangled the soul of our democracy by imposing the Emergency on the nation. Lakhs of people were thrown behind bars for no fault of their own, and the voice of the media was silenced.”

“The Government of India has decided to observe the 25th of June every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas.’ This day will commemorate the massive contributions of all those who endured the inhuman pains of the 1975 Emergency,” he added.

On June 25, 1975, the then PM Indira Gandhi, in a brazen display of a dictatorial mindset, strangled the soul of our democracy by imposing the Emergency on the nation. Lakhs of people were thrown behind bars for no fault of their own, and the voice of the media was silenced.

The… pic.twitter.com/9sEfPGjG2S

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 12, 2024

The decision made by the government led by PM Shri @narendramodi Ji is intended to honor the spirit of millions who struggled to revive democracy despite facing inexplicable persecution at the hands of an oppressive government.

The observance of ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ will…

— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 12, 2024

PM Narendra Modi also posted on X and said the day will serve as a reminder of the Constitution being trampled over. 

“To observe 25th June as #SamvidhaanHatyaDiwas will serve as a reminder of what happens when the Constitution of India was trampled over. It is also a day to pay homage to each and every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress unleashed dark phase of Indian history,” the PM wrote. 

To observe 25th June as #SamvidhaanHatyaDiwas will serve as a reminder of what happens when the Constitution of India was trampled over. It is also a day to pay homage to each and every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress unleashed dark phase of… https://t.co/om14K8BiTz

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 12, 2024

The Congress has hit back and accused the BJP of indulging in “yet another headline grabbing exercise in hypocrisy”.

‘400 Paar’ And Congress Claims

Throughout Narendra Modi’s tenure as Prime Minister, the Congress and other opposition parties have accused the BJP and the Central government of violating the Constitution as well as weakening constitutional institutions, including the election commission and the judiciary.

They got more ammunition when, in the months leading up to the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Karnataka BJP MP Anantkumar Hegde and the party’s Meerut candidate Arun Govil, among others, said that the NDA had set itself a target of winning 400 seats because it wanted to amend the Constitution. 

The opposition, which had come together under the INDIA umbrella, seized on the opportunity to claim that the BJP wanted to end reservation and “dismantle” the Constitution. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and others also began carrying a copy of the foundational document and stated repeatedly that the INDIA alliance was fighting to protect the Constitution. 

As the INDIA narrative began to gain traction, the BJP and the government went into damage-control mode, claiming that the opposition was spreading lies. The issue did, however, work to the INDIA alliance’s favour in several states and played a role in limiting the BJP to 240 Lok Sabha seats and the NDA to 293. 

Counter Attack

Going on the offensive, the BJP repeatedly brought up the Emergency to claim that it was the Congress that had violated the Constitution.

On June 25 this year, PM Modi led the attack, posting on X, “Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the Emergency. The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India which every Indian respects greatly.”

“Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution,” he wrote, adding that the mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency was “very much alive among the same party which imposed it”.

Amit Shah also tweeted that the Congress has a history of murdering democracy.

The Constitution and the Emergency also dominated the special session of Parliament, which began on June 24. Rahul Gandhi carried a copy of the Constitution with him while taking oath as an MP and his Congress colleague, Shashi Tharoor, said ‘Jai Samvidhan’ after he was sworn in. 

The Emergency was a part of President Droupadi Murmu’s address to a joint sitting of Parliament as well. 

“Today is 27th June. The imposition of Emergency on 25th June, 1975, was the biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack on the Constitution. The entire country felt outraged. But the country emerged victorious over such unconstitutional forces as the traditions of the republic lie at the core of India,” she had said, amid cheers from NDA members and protests by the opposition.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) Chief and former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on Saturday recalled what they went through during the dark days of Emergency and said that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi put many of the leaders behind bars, but she never abused them.

In a post shared on X, the RJD chief shared an article “The Sangh Silence in 1975” written by him and journalist Nalin Verma. In the article, they attacked the BJP-led central government and said that although 1975 is a stain on the country’s democracy, let’s not forget who doesn’t respect the Opposition in 2024.

“I was the convener of the steering committee that Jayaprakash Narayan–had constituted to carry forward the movement against the excesses of Emergency imposed by the then PM Indira Gandhi. I was in jail under the Maintenance of Security Act (MISA) for over 15 months. My colleagues and I did not know many of the BJP ministers speaking about the Emergency today. We hadn’t heard of Modi, J P Nadda, and some of the PM’s other ministerial colleagues who today lecture us on the value of freedom,” he posted on X.

“Indira Gandhi put many of us behind bars, but she never abused us. Neither she nor her ministers called us “anti-national” or “unpatriotic”. She never enabled vandals to defile the memory of Babasaheb Ambedkar–the architect of our Constitution. 1975 is a stain on our democracy but let’s not forget who doesn’t respect the Opposition in 2024,” the RJD leader added.

On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, imposed a 21-month state of emergency. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, which is considered one of the most controversial periods in India’s political history.

Earlier on Thursday, President Droupadi Murmu addressed the joint sitting of the Parliament and criticised the imposition of ‘Emergency’.

“Emergency was the biggest and darkest chapter of the direct attack on the Constitution. The entire country plunged into chaos during the Emergency, but the nation was victorious against such unconstitutional powers”, she said.

The remarks of the President have triggered reactions from the leaders of the INDIA bloc.

Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to gain cheap applause by making the President deliver a speech filled with lies.

“Modi Ji is trying to gain cheap applause by making the Honorable President speak lies, which the people of India have already rejected in the 2024 elections,” Kharge wrote on his official ‘X’ account.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Guna:

Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday targeted Congress over the imposition of Emergency 49 years ago and claimed the voice of 80 crore people was stifled to save the chair of select people.

Speaking to reporters in Guna on the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, Mr Scindia said June 25 is remembered as a “black day” in the history of the country.

“Today is remembered as a black day as those elements had throttled the voice of 80 crore people to save their chair,” said Mr Scindia, a career Congress politician who quit the party in March 2020 and joined the BJP.

On the maiden visit to Guna after winning the recent Lok Sabha election on the BJP ticket, Mr Scindia said the electoral outcome has further strengthened democracy and the Constitution is being protected.

“The NDA (National Democratic Alliance) worships this ‘granth’” (Constitution),” he said.

Asked about his new responsibilities as the Minister for Communication and Development of the North Eastern Region, Mr Scindia said he would work with the same enthusiasm when he had handled the Civil Aviation portfolio.

He asked the Opposition to digest their electoral defeat instead of criticising the Central government.

“They should play the role of the opposition. But if you are unable to digest your defeat, then you will keep looking at power and remain in the opposition forever,” he said.

Mr Scindia attributed the BJP’s sweeping victory in all 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s widespread popularity.

“PM Modi lives in the hearts of the people and vice-versa,” he said.

While he characterised the “Abki baar 400 paar” slogan as purely electoral, Mr Scindia noted that the “historic verdict” has cemented Modi’s position as Prime Minister for a third consecutive term.

“The victory of the BJP has three pillars: youth, women, and farmers,” he added.

Queried about fertiliser shortages, Mr Scindia assured that farmers would not face any difficulties.

“I have already sent two racks of manure this month and the third one will reach here by June 30th,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The “darkness” of the Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government in June 1975 “must be known to youngsters today as they are the future of the country”, former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu told NDTV Tuesday, on the 50th anniversary of that Emergency.

“I am very particular students today know what happened in the country in 1975… during the Emergency. They must know why it was imposed, how was it enforced, and how was it lifted. All of this must be known to youngsters because they are the future of the country,” Mr Naidu said.

Mr Naidu, a veteran member of the ruling BJP who was also a Union Minister, a Rajya Sabha MP, and the National President of his party, spent 17-and-a-half months in jail during the Emergency.

“I was sitting in a student meeting at the time. Suddenly a message came to me, saying. ‘Emergency is going to be imposed’. We were told, ‘please go underground’. That was the message…”

The message, Mr Naidu explained, came from the ABVP, or the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the BJP’s youth wing. “It was then not a word familiar to us…” he chuckled.

“So I skipped away from the meeting, slipped to some other town, and changed my attire. For two-and-a-half months I avoided arrest and distributed pamphlets against the Emergency.”

“One day, as I was going back to Vijayawada to return a scooter belonging to my friend, the manager of a theatre in which I distributed pamphlets… he was my friend… he was telling the police, ‘you are searching for Venkaiah Naidu? That fellow is innocent. He does not know anything about all this’.”

Mr Naidu explained the police were waiting for him and he was swiftly arrested.

“The reason for my arrest was that I invited Jayaprakash Narayan (a prominent freedom fighter and political leader who opposed then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi) to the university. I was Chairman of the Students’ Union then… he came and addressed the students, and was very impressed.”

“I was then not in politics. I was arrested under MISA, or Maintenance of Internal Security Act.”

MISA was a controversial law passed by the then union government giving Mrs Gandhi and law enforcement agencies broad powers to detain individuals infinitely and without warrants.

“As a joke we used to call it ‘Maintenance of Indira Security Act’,” he smiled.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the BJP’s charge and posted on X to mark the 25th anniversary of Emergency being declared, and took a sharp swipe at the Congress on this topic.

“Just to cling on to power, the then Congress government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail. Any person who disagreed with the Congress was tortured and harassed. Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections,” he said.

READ | PM Leads BJP’s Emergency Offensive To Counter INDIA’s Narrative

The Prime Minister has referred to the Emergency multiple times this week, as the first session of the new Lok Sabha gets underway and the BJP and Congress prepare for a fierce squabble over various issues, including leaked exam papers for the UGC-NET and NEET-UG competitive tests.

On Tuesday too Mr Modi attacked the Congress on this subject, calling the Emergency a “black spot” on the history of India’s democracy.

The PM’s remarks drew a sharp response from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, who said Mr Modi spoke about a 50-year-old period but disregard the last decade’s “undeclared Emergency”.

READ | PM’s ‘Emergency’ Jab At Congress, M Kharge’s NEET Reply

The BJP eased to a third consecutive term after the April-May-June general election on the back of a strong show by National Democratic Alliance partners.

The BJP won only 240 seats – 32 short of majority – but 53 from the NDA, including 28 from Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU, ensured a third straight win for Mr Modi’s party.

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In what was a late All India Radio broadcast on June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi, the then-Indian Prime Minister, announced that the President had proclaimed Emergency. The decision to impose Emergency came shortly after Supreme Court granted a conditional stay on the Allahabad High Court verdict, declaring Ms Gandhi’s election to the lower house of the Parliament null and void. She was also asked to distance herself from parliamentary proceedings.

During what would arguably be the toughest 21 months of Emergency, multiple leaders raised their voices against Ms Gandhi and her supporters. Their efforts finally put Indian democracy back on the rails in March 1977.

Here’s a look at 10 key leaders who braved the hardships and emerged strong from the Emergency period:

1. Jayaprakash Narayan

Popularly known as ‘Lok Nayak’ (the people’s hero), Jayaprakash Narayan called for Sampoorna Kranti, a total revolution, in the political system after the High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices. He never contested an election but received tremendous support from the people when he led the fight against the Emergency. A major highlight was the Ramlila Ground rally in the national capital that shook Ms Gandhi.

2. Morarji Desai

In the aftermath of the Emergency, the Janata Party came to power during the 1977 elections. As Mr Desai became the next Prime Minister, he reportedly overturned a slew of directives issued by Ms Gandhi, further bringing in major constitutional amendments to make it harder for Emergency to be declared in future again.

3. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Most of the Opposition leaders were jailed during the Emergency. Among them was Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was imprisoned for several months. During this time, he criticised Ms Gandhi’s decision to impose Emergency through his poems. In the Janata Party government, Mr Vajpayee, who would later become the country’s Prime Minister, served as the Foreign Minister of India.

4. LK Advani

One of the co-founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), LK Advani was also among those imprisoned during the Emergency. Addressing the atmosphere of fear during the time, Advani’s words on how media operated are etched in memory. “When asked to bend, they chose to crawl,” he had famously remarked. Mr Advani would later serve as India’s Deputy Prime Minister.

5. George Fernandes

Stories of George Fernandes disguising himself as a local fisherman, a Sikh or even as a Sadhu to evade arrests during the Emergency period are known by one and all. He travelled extensively, receiving major support for resistance against Ms Gandhi’s rule. Though he was eventually arrested, Mr Fernandes later contested the general elections from jail and won the Muzaffarpur seat in Bihar by a massive margin.

6. Lalu Prasad Yadav

At a young age, Lalu Prasad Yadav took part in the JP movement and went on to gain enough prominence to emerge as an important leader in the post-emergency era. He has served as the Chief Minister of Bihar and was also the Railway Minister during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance era.

7. Mulayam Singh Yadav

Fondly known as ‘Netaji’ among party workers and followers, Mulayam Singh Yadav was also jailed during the Emergency period. Later, he went on to become one of the most prominent leaders of Uttar Pradesh and served as state Chief Minister thrice. After his demise in October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to him, calling him a “key soldier for democracy during the Emergency.”

8. Sharad Yadav

A seven-term Lok Sabha and four-term Rajya Sabha member, Sharad Yadav is a former Union Minister. He was also among key leaders who opposed Ms Gandhi’s Emergency tooth and nail. He was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 1974 from Madhya Pradesh’s Jabalpur. Mr Yadav also played a crucial role in the implementation of the Mandal Commission recommendations.

9. Ram Vilas Paswan

Ram Vilas Paswan, who would later emerge as one of the key leaders in Bihar politics, was jailed during the 1975 Emergency. Two years later, during the 1977 General Elections, Mr Paswan registered a landslide victory in the Hajipur Lok Sabha seat.

10. Raj Narain

Remembered as the biggest critic of ex-PM Indira Gandhi, Raj Narain was also arrested and imprisoned during the Emergency period. After losing to Ms Gandhi in Uttar Pradesh’s Raebareli seat during the 1971 elections, Mr Narain challenged her election alleging electoral malpractices as well as violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Post the Emergency, he went on to defeat Ms Gandhi from the same seat in the 1977 elections.

Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh):

On the occasion of 50 years of Emergency, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that although the faces in Congress have changed, their character and gestures remain the same.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “They tried to completely strangle democracy by locking up all the leaders of the opposition parties of that time, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Krishna Advani and all the leaders of the Opposition. After 50 years, the faces in the Congress have changed, but its character, its gestures are still the same, as was seen in 1975.”

He said that the then Congress government strangled the Constitution of India.

He further said, “A dark chapter of India’s parliamentary democracy took place exactly 50 years ago on this day late at night, when the then Congress government conspired to completely end democracy by strangling the Constitution of India. Congress government led by Indira Gandhi tried to destroy India’s democracy in the darkness of the night of June 25, 1975.”

The UP Chief Minister blamed the Congress for stalling the proceedings of the Parliament.

“The way they made amendments to the Preamble and tried to destroy it. They snatched the fundamental rights of the people. They eroded the rights of the judiciary. They talk about democracy, but they visit abroad and criticise democracy, raise questions about the election process, and blame the EVM for their defeats. Congress forcefully enforced Article 370. Those who are trying to stall the proceedings in Parliament have they ever obeyed the Constitution,” he added.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed sharp criticism at the Congress and said that the dark days of the emergency remind how the Congress Party trampled over the Constitution of India.

Taking to X PM Modi posted, “Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the emergency. The Dark Days of Emergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India, which every Indian respects greatly.”

He further said that just to cling on to power, the then Congress government disregarded every democratic principle.

He further shared, “Just to cling on to power, the then Congress government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail. Any person who disagreed with Congress was tortured and harassed. Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections.”

He wrote that those who imposed the emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution.

“These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism, and violated every aspect of the Constitution,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)