Speaker invokes Indira and Emergency blot, Congress MPs protest

At a time when Congress leaders have carried copies of the Constitution to their oath-taking, the government and the BJP decided to sharpen their attack on the prime Opposition party over the Emergency as an attack on the constitution and civil liberties, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda taking to X to commend the Speaker over the statement.

Birla said in his statement, “This House condemns the decision to impose the Emergency in 1975. We also appreciate the resolve of those who opposed the Emergency with all their might and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting India’s democracy. The Congress trampled upon the spirit of the constitution. It imposed dictatorship in 1975. People bore the brunt of draconian policies. The Emergency is a blot on our history.”

He added: “The amendments done by the Congress government were aimed at concentrating all powers in the hands of one person, at controlling the judiciary, and destroying the basic structure of the constitution. Citizens’ rights were trampled upon and democratic values were thrown to the winds. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi talked about a committed bureaucracy and a committed judiciary, which showed her anti-democratic temperament. The Emergency brought policies filled with such anti-social and autocratic intent that they destroyed the lives of the poor, Dalits and the marginalised. People had to bear the forced vasectomy drive of the Emergency and irresponsible action in the name of removing illegal encroachments. This House expresses solidarity with all people who suffered due to it.”

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Underlining that the period is a reminder of Constitutional principles, federal structure and independence of the judiciary, Birla said: “…In order to reinforce our commitment to this second independence after countless sacrifices, it is important to pass this resolution. We also believe that our youth must know about this black chapter of our democracy. The Emergency destroyed the lives of countless citizens; many people died during it. We will now hold a two-minute silence for those patriotic and dutiful citizens who lost their lives at the hands of the dictatorial Congress government in that black phase of the Emergency.”

Even following the adjournment of the House after the ruckus, the government and the ruling party kept up their attacks. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to X and wrote, “I am glad that the Honourable Speaker strongly condemned the Emergency, highlighted the excesses committed during that time and also mentioned the manner in which democracy was strangled. It was also a wonderful gesture to stand in silence in honour of all those who suffered during those days. The Emergency was imposed 50 years ago but it is important for today’s youth to know about it because it remains a fitting example of what happens when the Constitution is trampled over, public opinion is stifled and institutions are destroyed.”

BJP national president and Union Health Minister JP Nadda also lent his support to the resolution. The party fielded Puri MP Sambit Patra to recall the excesses of the Emergency in a presser at the BJP central office.

“We welcome the motion moved by Lok Sabha Speaker Honourable Shri Om Birla against the Emergency. We condemn this attack by Congress on the Constitution of India created by Baba Saheb Ambedkar,” Nadda wrote on X. “If the Congress has accepted that period of Emergency as the darkest chapter of democracy, then we welcome this initiative.”

Patra said that while Congress members rushed into the well of the House to create a ruckus, Samajwadi Party, DMK and TMC members were standing in their place. Patra suggested that this showed that the INDIA bloc was not on the same page on this, as SP’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, RJD’s Lalu Prasad, and DMK’s M Karunanidhi, TR Baalu and MK Stalin had also gone to jail during the Emergency.