On the 50th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency in India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a scathing attack on the Congress, saying the party had taken democracy hostage in 1975. Marking the day as one of the darkest in India’s democratic history, the PM said, “Fifty years ago, a black chapter was added to India’s democracy when the then Congress government imposed Emergency and suppressed constitutional rights.”
Emergency was declared on 25 June 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, lasting till March 1977. To observe the anniversary, the BJP announced it will mark June 25 as “Constitution Killing Day”, organising events across the country to remind people of the period’s excesses. At district-level events, BJP leaders will honour MISA detainees—those jailed under the draconian Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).
Union Home Minister Amit Shah termed the Emergency an act of injustice, not a necessity. “It wasn’t due to a national emergency but born out of dictatorial mentality and hunger for power,” he said, accusing the Congress of trampling democracy to safeguard one individual’s chair.
Union Minister Harsh Malhotra reiterated the BJP’s stand, stating that June 25 marks the day when the Constitution was violated. “Young citizens must know that those who now speak of democracy once destroyed it by imposing Emergency,” he said.
BJP and RSS leader Bhuvananand Tripathi, who was imprisoned during the Emergency, recalled that it was not triggered by external aggression or internal unrest. “It was a dark time. Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency just to stay in power. We were college students then. Opposition leaders were jailed, all fundamental rights were suspended, and the Constitution was violated,” he said.
