The Union Cabinet adopted a resolution to honour sacrifices of those who resisted Emergency.
- The Union Cabinet adopted a resolution to honour those who resisted the Emergency and observed two-minute sile
- BJP declared the 50th anniversary of Emergency as "Samvidhan Hatya Divas"
- Congress accused the BJP of using the Emergency anniversary to divert attention from current governance issues
The 50th anniversary of Emergency turned a political flashpoint with the BJP declaring it "Samvidhan Hatya Divas (Murder of Constitution Day" and the Congress alleging it is just a diversionary tactic meant to cover up its misgovernance. The Union Cabinet adopted a resolution to honour sacrifices of those who resisted Emergency and observed two-minute silence against the excesses committed back then.
"The year 2025 marks 50 years of the Samvidhan Hatya Diwas - an unforgettable chapter in the history of India where the Constitution was subverted, the Republic and democratic spirit of India was attacked, federalism was undermined, and fundamental rights, human liberty and dignity were suspended," read the resolution from the cabinet, adopted at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Top leaders of the BJP slammed Emergency - imposed by the government of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 - and used the occasion to target the Congress.
Union minister Amit Shah called it "era of injustice" fuelled by the Congress party's "hunger for power".
"It was a 25-year-old youth who opposed the dictatorial ideas of the then prime minister," he said. PM Modi "went door-to-door, village-to-village and city-to-city to protest against it, and finally he uprooted the dynastic politics from the entire country in 2014," Mr Shah said.
"The Emergency imposed on June 25, 1975, caused immense pain and suffering to the people of the nation. To ensure that the new generation understands this, the Modi government has named this day Samvidhan Hatya Diwas. This day reminds us that when power turns into dictatorship, the people have the strength to uproot it," he wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
"The opposition to the dictatorship of Congress was not merely political. It was a movement to protect the soul of India and the Constitution in which nationalists put their lives at stake. Jai Prakash Narayan and Chaudhary Charan Singh, as well as Atal ji, Advani ji, Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia, Murli Manohar Joshi, and thousands of party workers and 'Vichar Parivar' workers were forcibly put in jail by Indira Gandhi's government," said BJP chief JP Nadda.
Mr Nadda also flagged PM Modi's contribution at the time, saying he, "as a responsible worker, threw dust in the eyes of the dictatorial government and with the help of lakhs of dedicated volunteer workers, took the truth of Congress to every village, every street and every house."
"PM Modi is repeatedly invoking a period that the country has moved past. He is making an issue out of something that people have already forgotten," said Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, pointing to the government's move to commemorate the day.
"The Prime Minister's sudden interest in the Constitution is only to counter our year-long campaign to protect it. Those who never contributed to the freedom struggle or constitution-making are now claiming to defend it", Mr Kharge said at a press conference this morning.
Calling the NDA government's rule since 2014 an "undeclared emergency," Mr Kharge said, "There's rising inflation, unemployment, corruption, and crony capitalism. But the government distracts from these issues with such drama."
Mr Kharge said currently BJP-ruled states receive favourable treatment while Opposition-ruled states are neglected. "Governors are now used as political tools. The Supreme Court itself had to intervene against governors sitting on bills," he noted.
The debate reverberate across states as the BJP slammed the Congress, saying its "emergency mindset" persists.
"It (the Congress) wants to run the country according to its convenience. If it wins elections, it doesn't have any problem with the Constitution but after any setback in polls, it starts claiming that the Constitution is in danger," said party MP Sudhanshu Trivedi.
"Months ago, Rahul Gandhi went abroad and asked why the defenders of democracy - US and Europe were silent on India. Such utterances show the party's Emergency mindset," he said, asking why an individual's political ambitions can outweigh the interests of a nation.
Madhya Pradesh Congress chief Jitu Patwari said the BJP is "observing the 50th anniversary of Emergency to hide its own misdeeds like toppling elected governments through horse trading of MLAs, atrocities against Dalits, tribal community and women in the state and the country".
