New Delhi: On the 49th anniversary of the Emergency on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the 'dark days' of the Emergency era under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. In a series of tweets on his official account on X, PM Modi paid homage to those who resisted the Emergency back in 1975, calling it a period of darkness. He also criticised the Congress party and its previous governments for undermining basic freedoms and violating the Constitution.
PM Modi Attacks Congress
PM Modi tweeted, "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."
He accused the Congress of transforming the nation into a jail to retain power, stating, "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."
Further attacking the Congress, Modi wrote, "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, "The mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it. They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again."
About Emergency
The Emergency, which lasted from 1975 to 1977, was a period marked by the suspension of civil liberties, censorship of the press, and widespread persecution of political opponents under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's leadership. Indira Gandhi announced the Emergency on All India Radio late on June 25, 1975, shortly after the Supreme Court stayed the Allahabad High Court's verdict against her election. She cited a "deep conspiracy" as the reason for imposing Emergency and initiated widespread arrests of opposition leaders.
During this time, Gandhi, who had previously won decisively in 1971 and led the liberation of Bangladesh, faced growing instability due to protests and legal challenges. The Gujarat Navnirman agitation, Jayaprakash Narayan's movement, and a railway strike further intensified tensions. Despite the repression of dissent, a galvanised opposition rallied against her, leading to mass arrests of leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan, L K Advani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Morarji Desai.
