BJP leader Amit Malviya has set off a scathing attack on the Trinamool Congress (TMC) for inheriting the same "dynasty-driven, authoritarian mindset" that, in his view, caused the Congress to impose the Emergency in 1975.
Malviya reacted to a recent remark by TMC's Rajya Sabha MP and erstwhile journalist Sagarika Ghose, who seemed to justify Emergency being imposed.
Ghose had opined that Emergency was a retaliation to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) purportedly propelling the country towards anarchy.
Responding on social media, Malviya posted, "TMC MP Sagarika Ghose's defense of the Emergency is not surprising. TMC is merely a brutal branch of the same dynasty-oriented, authoritarian mentality that enforced Emergency in 1975 – the mentality that dreads dissent and lives on surrender."
He also faulted Ghose for selectively glossing over the most important facets of the Emergency, such as the curbing of civil rights and the disintegration of democratic institutions during the reign of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi when she proclaimed the Emergency on June 25, 1975.
Malviya also brought to light the political detentions at the time, stating that top leaders of the then Jana Sangh—former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, and the current Defence Minister Rajnath Singh—were imprisoned. He added that RSS leader Balasaheb Deoras was also held in prison.
Describing the ban on the RSS, Malviya said, "The RSS was officially banned on 4 July 1975. Of 1.3 lakh Satyagrahis arrested, more than 1 lakh were RSS. 25,000 out of 30,000 persons held in detention under MISA were Sangh Karyakartas. A young Narendra Modi operated underground and organized resistance throughout the nation."
Malviya, the BJP's IT Cell chief and party's overall observer for West Bengal, also attributed TMC's current behavior to its supposed autocratic leanings. He quoted an earlier occasion when West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee labeled a student a "Maoist" for challenging her, saying, "Tyranny is in their blood.". They can never learn sacrifice – because their politics is one of blind obedience and hereditary power. Emergency was not merely a Congress sin – it's an attitude which TMC takes great pride in carrying on.
Piling praise on Malviya, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, demanded that June 25 be observed annually as "Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas" to remind the people of the pitfalls of authoritarianism.
Earlier this month, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, however, rejected the Union government's notification to observe June 25 as "Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas" and called it a "mockery" of democracy and the Constitution.
Addressing the media, Banerjee questioned, "Does the present Union government believe in democratic norms? Is democracy flourishing in the country in the real sense at present? So 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' will not be celebrated in West Bengal."
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