PM Modi Says Those Who Imposed Emergency 'Have No Right' To Show Love For Constitution

On the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday in a series of posts on microblogging platform X that its dark days are a reminder of how the Congress subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution which every Indian respects greatly.

On June 25, 1975, the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, imposed Emergency in the country, suspending civil liberties, jailing opposition leaders and dissidents and effecting press censorship.

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In a clear attack on Congress, PM Modi on Tuesday said, "Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution."

"The mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it. They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again," PM Modi added.

"Just to cling on to power, the then Congress Government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail," PM Modi said in one of his posts, adding that "any person who disagreed with the Congress was tortured and harassed."

"Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections," PM Modi said.

On Monday also, PM Modi's remarks on Emergency sparked a row after his mention of the same in his customary speech before the commencement of Parliament session prompted Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge to react sharply.

After Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed the Emergency a 'black spot' on India's democracy a day ahead of its 50th anniversary on Monday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called out PM's "more than necessary" customary words and said while the country was hopeful that he will show some sympathy towards youth regarding paper leak in NEET and other entrance exams, he did not take any responsibility for the same or any other key issue.

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Responding to PM Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a long post on microblogging platform X: "Prime Minister Modi Ji used his customary words more than necessary today. This is called, the rope burnt but the strength did not go away."

"The country was hopeful that Modiji would say something on important issues. He will show some sympathy towards youth regarding paper leak in NEET and other entrance exams, but he did not take any responsibility for the rigging and corruption of his government," Kharge added.