Delhi BJP marks Emergency anniversary with tribute event

The Delhi BJP on Friday commemorated the 51st anniversary of the Emergency by organising a seminar at the NDMC Convention Centre. At the seminar, 115 Loktantra Senanis jailed during the 1975-77 Emergency were felicitated and honoured 

for their role in resisting what party leaders described as an assault on democratic values.The event was attended by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, former Union Minister Smriti Irani, BJP Parliamentary Board member and Loktantra Senani Satyanarayan Jatiya, and Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra, besides several MPs and senior party leaders.
Addressing the gathering, the chief minister said June 25, observed by the Centre as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, should be remembered so that future generations understand the consequences of the Emergency. 

“Every year when we burn the effigy of Ravana, it symbolises the victory of truth over falsehood and good over evil. Similarly, Samvidhan Hatya Diwas is remembered so that future generations remain aware of this chapter in history and no leader ever dares to repeat such an act again,” she said.
The Chief Minister also paid tribute to those imprisoned during the Emergency, recalling former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s writings from jail. “Despite being imprisoned, respected Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji’s pen continued to work and became the voice of lakhs of democracy warriors,” she said.

Former Union Minister Smriti Irani accused the Congress of attempting to rewrite the history of the Emergency and urged young people to learn about the period. “Congress leaders spread misconceptions from Parliament to the streets and claim that they are the true protectors of the Constitution. Therefore, the youth must know what happened to the Constitution during the Emergency,” she said.
Irani also alleged that the suffering of women during the Emergency has largely been omitted from historical accounts. “There is no mention of what happened to women during the Emergency because the atrocities committed against women have been removed from the pages of Emergency history,” she claimed.

Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra said the Emergency demonstrated the importance of democratic institutions. “The young generation that did not witness that period must understand what the mindset of Congress was at that time and how those who today talk about the Constitution had once strangled it,” he said. 

He added that an independent judiciary, free press, active civil society and aware citizens remain the strongest safeguards of democracy.