External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Friday took an indirect jab at the Congress party and its senior leader Rahul Gandhi, blaming them for projecting constitutional principles for show instead of genuine conviction.
Indirectly referring to individuals, Jaishankar targeted those who, according to him, parade the Constitution in public but disregard its substance.
"How much respect can you see for the Constitution by others who are still not apologizing for the Emergency?" he asked. "Nothing comes out of carrying around a copy of the Constitution. It must be respected in the heart."
Referring to the 1975 Emergency, Jaishankar indicated that some political ideologies had never expressed any remorse for the time. "Some people wave the Constitution in their hand but the thoughts in their hearts are different. Political parties also possess a DNA and they have, up until now, never regretted declaring Emergency," he stated.
He termed the Emergency as an extreme effort to stifle the country's spirit. When a family is placed above the country, things like Emergency happen," he added. "This whole exercise, in a sense, was to demoralise the country and the society. Many individuals, not even in politics, were affected.". Those who were political leaders knew very well that being political meant sure arrest, and arrested individuals did not know if and when they would be free.
Jaishankar wrapped up with a retrospection: "The one lesson that Emergency taught us is to never take freedom for granted."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had previously also made a remark on the anniversary of the Emergency, calling it the "darkest chapter" in India's democratic experience.
The Emergency, which ran from June 25, 1975, and ended on March 21, 1977, was proclaimed under Article 352 of the Constitution by then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on grounds of internal disturbances. It was the first time that India saw Emergency rule in times of peace.
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