Prime Minister Narendra Modi, addressing the Lok Sabha on Saturday, launched a scathing attack on the Congress, especially regarding the Emergency of 1975. Speaking of the event as a dark period in India’s democratic history, Modi said,
“When the Constitution completed 25 years it was ripped apart. All constitutional rights were revoked, the country became a prison, and journalism was suppressed. Congress will never be able to clear this stain.”
He further alleged to have repeatedly impugned the Constitution by the Gandhi family. His statement reads:
“One Congress family left no stone unturned in hurting the Constitution. They have been relentlessly driven to wrong thought, wrong action, and wrong policy,”
Modi Hails India’s Constitutional Journey in Lok Sabha Address, Slams Congress
Turning to address the issue, Modi commended the framers of the Constitution and underscored the special character of India’s democracy. He called India the “Mother of Democracy”, and praised its ancient republicanism.
The democratic foundation of India has been a source of global inspiration. The architects of our Constitution did not hold that India came into being in 1947 or that democracy commenced in 1950. They were deeply aware of the great traditions, culture, and heritage that date back thousands of years, Modi said.
The prime minister also emphasized the underlying progressive nature of the Constitution, especially the Constitution’s provisions regarding the rights of women to vote, which lay the foundation for the present “women-led development” in India.
Emergency and Its Legacy
The 1975 Emergency imposed by the Congress government under Indira Gandhi remains a point of contention in Indian politics. Modi’s remarks highlight the BJP’s familiar charge of the Congress Party, claiming that it abused democracy for its political objectives.
A debate around India’s constitutional development that opened in Parliament saw Modi give forceful rhetoric on the Emergency that also rekindled the debate on one of the most controversial periods in Indian political history.