Marking the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party leader Pawan Kalyan on Wednesday termed the period as one of the darkest in the history of India after Independence.
Terming it much more than a political incident, Kalyan underlined that the Emergency was a total sell-out of the Constitution and an attack on democratic values owing to the thirst for complete power under the regime of Congress.
"The media was muzzled. The voice of the Opposition was stifled. Fundamental freedoms were suspended. Great leaders such as Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Sri L. K. Advani, Sri George Fernandes, and Sri Morarji Desai and numerous others were jailed for standing up in defense of democracy," the actor-turned-politician penned on X.
As we celebrate 50 years of this constitutional betrayal, we observe 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' to commemorate the sacrifices of those who opposed tyranny with courage and defended the integrity of our democracy. Let us recall the sacrifices of the Leader who defied oppression, and the agony of crores whose voices were muffled. Even now, we have to be vigilant against any attempt to undermine our Constitution in the name of politics," he added.
The union leaders too had spoken in the same lines while marking the occasion.
Union Coal and Mines Minister G. Kishan Reddy, in an X post, called the Emergency "the darkest chapter in India's democracy," saying the Constitution was violated, thousands were jailed, and the freedom of the media was destroyed in order to save the rule of a single family.
"Today is 50 years since Emergency was imposed by the Congress in 1975, the blackest page in India's democratic history. The Constitution was trampled upon, Lakhs were imprisoned, Media gagged and Democracy assassinated - all to maintain one family in power!!" he tweeted.
"Never forget the ones who put the nation in jail to protect their chair! Never forgive the ones who branded that tyranny as 'necessary'. Nobody is higher than our Constitution, and we will NEVER allow such dictatorship to emerge again," Reddy wrote.
Seconding these sentiments, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar denounced the day as national mourning for democracy.
"It was the day democracy was crushed and dictatorship was at its peak. The day when the whole nation was shrouded in the gloom of the thirst for power. The day when liberty was overpowered and tyranny dominated. The day when personal freedom was lost and the Constitution was ridiculed," he wrote on the site.
Kumar added, "The Emergency declared by the Congress Party is a black page inscribed in India's history. This day continues to be a mournful memory. Let us make all efforts to safeguard constitutional values, keeping the services of many gallant souls in mind who were put behind bars, struggling to abrogate the Emergency and uphold the Constitution."
As the nation looks back on this turning point in its democratic experience, politicians of all stripes are calling citizens to exercise vigilance in maintaining the integrity and the essence of the Constitution.
Read also| Amit Malviya Alleges Rahul Gandhi on Secret Trip Abroad; Congress Hits Back
Read also| PM Modi Slams Congress Over 1975 Emergency, BJP Calls It an Attack on Democracy
