BJP seeks Congress apology on 51 years of emergency

The BJP on Thursday attacked the Congress on the 51st anniversary of the Emergency, with party president Nitin Nabin saying it was a dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy and the Congress has not yet offered an “unconditional apology” to the nation for it.

In a series of social media posts in Hindi, Nabin said the Emergency was a dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy, during which an attempt was made to “crush the soul of the Constitution”.

“On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court had declared the election of the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi, illegal. After this, priority was given not to national interest but to the interest of power,” the BJP chief said.

“To save the chair of one person, the freedom of the entire country was held hostage, and an attempt was made to crush the constitutional values and democratic dignity established by Baba Saheb Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar,” he added. Nabin said the Congress constantly blames the Modi Government for various reasons, including its election losses.

“If Parliament doesn’t function, it is the Government’s fault. If Congress is defeated in elections, it is the system’s fault.

“If the public doesn’t support (Congress), it is the institutions’ fault. The biggest question is why the party that invokes the Constitution has not yet offered an unconditional apology to the country for the Emergency,” the BJP chief said. If there truly was concern for the Constitution, the first thing would have been to seek forgiveness from the country for the crime of murdering democracy, he added.

Nabin alleged that for decades, attempts were made to erase the “dark chapter of the Emergency” from the nation’s collective memory. Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, however, justice has been done to history with the decision to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’, the BJP president said.

“Samvidhan Hatya Diwas not only reminds us of the past but also reinforces our resolve to remain ever-vigilant and dedicated to protecting the Constitution, democracy and civil liberties,” Nabin said.

“This day reminds us of the importance of freedom and the need to safeguard democratic values. We pay tribute to all those who fought to protect democracy, even amidst trying circumstances,” the BJP chief.

Addressing a press conference at the BJP headquarters, senior party leader Ravi Shankar Prasad slammed the Congress for the imposition of the Emergency during its rule and said all the excuses made by the opposition party to justify it are “absolutely baseless”.

Recalling the days of the Emergency, Prasad said all opposition leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani, Morarji Desai and George Fernandes, were arrested and subjected to various kinds of atrocities in jail.

“The RSS was banned. The nails of RSS swayamsevaks were pulled off. Even those who were not married were forcibly sterilised,” the BJP leader said.

Prasad said the term of Parliament was extended from five years to six years, and several amendments to the Constitution were passed while the opposition was in jail.

“And, the shameless people who are leading the Congress today talk about the Constitution. They call themselves protectors of the Constitution while they were devourers of the Constitution, and they are still so,” he added.