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.)

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.

Sant Kabir Nagar (Uttar Pradesh):

Taking a dig at the Congress and Gandhi family, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, grandmother of Rahul Gandhi gave slogans such as ‘Garibi Hatao’ but, in reality, the party never did anything for the poorer sections of society. He added that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who took care of 80 crore poor people in the country by giving them free ration.

Addressing an election rally in Sant Kabir Nagar, Amit Shah said, “They talk about the poor, Rahul Baba, your grandmother gave the slogan of eradicating poverty and you did nothing for the poor. PM Modi, the son of a poor tea seller, took care of 80 crore poor people in the country by giving free ration. Toilets were built in 12 crore houses, 4 crore pucca houses were constructed, Ujjwala gas cylinders were given to 10 crore mothers and sisters, pure tap water was provided to 14 crore houses.”

Amit Shah said that the Congress wants to snatch the reservation given to Other Backward Classes and transfer it to the Muslim community.

“In Karnataka and Hyderabad, the Congress Party reduced the reservation for backward and extremely backward classes by giving 5 per cent reservation to Muslims,” he said.

He further stated that this election is between those “who opened fire on Kar Sevaks in 1990 and those who constructed the Ram Temple”.

“Samajwadi Party opened fire on Ram bhakts, hundreds of kar sevaks were gunned down. This election is between those who shoot at Ram bhakts and those who built Ram Mandir,” he said.

Polling for the Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh is being held across all seven phases. Voting in the first five phases has already been completed, while the remaining phases are scheduled for May 25, and June 1. The counting of votes is on June 4.

In the 2019 polls, the BJP mopped up the bulk of the electoral spoils in the state, winning 62 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, while ally Apna Dal (S) won two more seats. Mayawati’s BSP managed to secure 10 seats, while her then-alliance partner, Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party, had to settle for just 5 seats. The Congress won just a lone seat in the state. In the 2014 elections, the BJP had swept UP, winning 71 seats, while the Congress could only bag two.

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

Watch | 50 years ago, India conducted its first ever nuclear test

Fifty years ago, India conducted its first nuclear test in Pokhran, code-named Operation Smiling Buddha. With this India had entered the league of nations with nuclear capabilities.

An article dated May 19th, 1974, says India successfully conducted an underground test with plutonium device in 10-15 kiloton range. It also adds that the then Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Dr H.N Sethna and Director of The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre DR R Ramanna, who supervised the test, flew to Delhi even without a wash or change to give a full account to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

India said that it undertook this programme to develop its own technology for peaceful use of nuclear energy and it had no intention of going in for nuclear weapons. The groundwork for testing nuclear energy was laid even earlier by renowned Indian scientists Homi J Bhabha and Vikram Sarabhai. In 1954, the Department of Atomic Energy was founded, with Bhabha as director.

With Smiling Buddha, India became the first nation to conduct a nuclear test apart from the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. After the nuclear test, there were criticisms that it was an attempt to divert people’s attention from the economic crisis the country was facing in the 1970s.

However, the Atomic Energy Commission chairman said that it was his decision and that there was no political motive,
Even a New York Times article said that “such great talent of resources has been squandered on the vanity of power, while 600 million Indians slip deeper into poverty”.

India also faced significant criticism from many countries including Pakistan, USA, and Canada. Pakistan said that it would never succumb to “nuclear blackmail” or accept “Indian hegemony or domination over the subcontinent”.

India did not carry out further nuclear tests until 1998. In 1998, under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India conducted a series of nuclear tests in Pokhran once again, code-named Operation Shakti.

With this, India declared itself a full-fledged nuclear state.

Script and production: Gayatri Menon

Research: Gayatri Menon and Murali Krishnaswamy

Archive photo courtesy: M. Srinath

Voiceover: Jude Francis Weston

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s accusation against the Opposition regarding the Katchatheevu island row stating that the the country’s first Prime Minister, wanted to give away the island to Sri Lanka.

The issue pertains to the year 1974 when the then Indira Gandhi government had accepted the island was a Sri Lankan area under the India-Sri Lankan maritime agreement.

The issue has again resurfaced after a media report based on an RTI reply received by Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on the 1974 pact.

PM Modi yesterday shared a statement by late DMK MP Era Sezhiyan expressing anger at the India-Sri Lanka Maritime Agreement signed by the then Indira Gandhi government by which India relinquished its claim on Katchatheevu island and called it “an unholy agreement.”

Addressing a press conference in the national capital, S Jaishankar said, “Today, it is important for the public to know and the people to judge, this issue has been hidden too long from the gaze of the public.”

“… We are talking about 1958 and 1960… The main people in the case wanted to make sure that at least we should get the fishing rights… The island was given away in 1974 and the fishing rights were given away in 1976… One, the most basic recurring (aspect) is the indifference shown by the then central government and the PMs about the territory of India…

“That fact is they simply did not care…,” Mr Jaishankar said in his press conference.

Addressing the press at @BJP4India Headquarters. https://t.co/iiWFiCnPvc

— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) April 1, 2024

“In an observation given by the then PM Jawaharlal Nehru in May 1961, he wrote, ‘I attach no importance at all to this little island and I would have no hesitation in giving up our claim to it. I do not like matters like this pending indefinitely and being raised again and again in parliament.’ So, to Pandit Nehru, this was a little island, it had no importance, he saw it as a nuisance… For him, the sooner you give it away, the better… This view continued on to Indira Gandhi as well…” the Minister added.

He put the Congress in the dock for completely ignoring Indian concerns on the island.

“The PM (Indira Gandhi) is said to have remarked in the AICC meeting that this is a little rock. I am reminded of those days when Pandit Nehru called our northern boundary as a place where not a blade of grass grew. I would like to remind them that after this historic statement by PM Nehru, he never regained the confidence of the country. The same was going to happen to the PM (Indira Gandhi) when she says that this is only a little rock and that there is nothing to worry about the territories of our country.’… So, this is not just one PM… This dismissive attitude…was the historic Congress attitude towards Katchatheevu…” Mr Jaishankar said.

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

New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi cited a media report today to assert that new facts reveal that the Congress had “callously” given away the Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka.

“Eye-opening and startling! New facts reveal how Congress callously gave away Katchatheevu. This has angered every Indian and reaffirmed in people’s minds – we can’t ever trust Congress,” he said on X, sharing the report.

“Weakening India’s unity, integrity and interests has been Congress’ way of working for 75 years and counting,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi claimed that the decision of the then Congress government at the Centre is why Tamil Nadu fishermen are captured and imprisoned by Lankans as they wander to the island, just 25 km off the state’s coast.

The island was with India till 1975, he said. Tamil Nadu’s fishermen would go there earlier but India’s agreement with Lanka barred them from doing so, he added.

Unfortunately, neither the DMK nor the Congress is raising the issue but PM Modi because he is committed to the country and its people, he said.

The BJP is hopeful that the issue will help the party gain political traction in the Dravidian territory ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, more so as it involves neighbouring Sri Lanka whose treatment of its Tamil people has long been a charged political issue in the state.

The report is based on an RTI reply Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai received on the decision of Indira Gandhi’s government in 1974 to hand over the territory in the Palk Strait to the island country.

The report also cited first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s saying that he would have no hesitation in giving up claims to the island. The issue has been a source of dispute between India and Lanka.

In a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Mr Trivedi asked why he is silent on the issue and said he should tell people that his party and his family are responsible for this.

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