Those lamenting Constitution now worked to become destroyer of democracy during Emergency: Shah
New Delhi, June 24 (UNI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday, without naming the Congress, said that those who now lament for the Constitution belong to that party which instead of becoming the protector of democracy, worked to become the destroyer of democracy.
Speaking at a programme organised on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency here, Shah accused the then Congress-led government of misusing the Constitution to safeguard power rather than the nation's security, a Home Ministry statement said.
'Those who today lament about the Constitution belong to the same party which, instead of protecting democracy, worked to destroy it,' Shah said.
During emergency the governments formed on the basis of people's mandate were toppled overnight by trampling the spirit of the Constitution, Shah said.
He criticised the declaration of Emergency on June 25, 1975, as an undemocratic act that bypassed parliamentary and Cabinet procedures.
'Was the Parliament consulted? Was a Cabinet meeting called? Was the Opposition or the public taken into confidence?' Shah questioned.
Calling the Emergency a 'conspiracy to turn India's multi-party democracy into the dictatorship of one person,' Shah said it had nothing to do with national security and everything to do with clinging to power.
He recounted how over one lakh political leaders, activists, journalists, students, and artists were jailed, and dissent was silenced.
'The legislature, executive, judiciary, press, and common citizens all watched helplessly as the country was turned into a prison,' he said.
Shah further highlighted the widespread constitutional amendments made during the period, including changes to the Preamble, Article 14, and numerous clauses under the 42nd Amendment, calling it a "mini version" of the Constitution.
'Even the judiciary was reshaped to suit the government's interests,' he continued.
He also touched on the excesses committed during the period, citing the mass sterilization drives and the blacklisting of cultural figures like Kishore Kumar.
'The idea of dissent, the power of the pen, and even freedom of thought were all imprisoned,' Shah said.
The Home Minister said the Emergency serves as a critical reminder for all political parties and citizens about the dangers of authoritarianism.
'The existence of different ideologies is the foundation of our democracy. Suppressing them is not just undemocratic—it is un-Indian,' he said.
Shah also praised the Indian Constitution, describing it as a legal expression of the democratic spirit of the Indian people.
'We are a country of diverse opinions, and that is our strength. Democracy was born here. Even the concept of the sarpanch comes from our traditions,' he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement to commemorate June 25 every year as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' (Constitution Murder Day), Shah said the objective is not to reopen old wounds but to ensure that such a dark chapter is never repeated.
'We must remember how disastrous the consequences can be when a government becomes dictatorial,' he said.
Stating that India is considered the mother of democracy in the world, Shah said that democracy in India is not just the spirit of the Constitution, rather the Constitution makers have interpreted the spirit of the people in the form of words contained in the Constitution and this is our national character.
The Home Minister said that he is sure that any sensible citizen who lived during the Emergency would not have liked it.
Those who were illusioned that no one can challenge them, were defeated in the elections held after the Emergency and a non-Congress government was formed for the first time after independence.
He said that even though it has been 50 years since the Emergency, but even today the wound in the hearts of crores of Indians is as fresh as it was during the Emergency, he added.
He termed the Emergency as the 'ananykal' of the then ruling party.
UNI RBE SS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News18
21 minutes ago
- News18
'She Can Be Picked Up Anytime': How Indira Gandhi's Cousin Faced Backlash During 1975 Emergency
During the 1975 Emergency, Nayantara Sahgal, Nehru's niece, faced censorship for criticising Indira Gandhi's regime but continued to speak out against authoritarianism During the dark days of the Emergency in 1975, when the Constitution was bent to serve autocratic power, one woman stood firm against the tide – Nayantara Sahgal, acclaimed author and niece of Jawaharlal Nehru. What she faced in return was an orchestrated campaign of censorship, social isolation, and political intimidation. Sahgal, also a aunt to Sanjay Gandhi and the daughter of India's first female ambassador, Vijayalakshmi Pandit, had long been a critic of the establishment. But the Emergency, declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in June 1975, marked a turning point in the state's response to dissenting voices. While she had previously crossed swords with the ruling government back then, what followed during the 19-month Emergency period went beyond mere ideological clashes; it became personal, institutional, and coercive. Suddenly, editorial doors began to shut. Newspaper editors who once sought her columns stopped returning calls. Publishers who earlier queued for her manuscripts now declined them with polite apologies. Even a foreign filmmaker who had earlier expressed interest in adapting her novel This Time of Morning into a film quietly withdrew from the project – fearful, reportedly, that any link with Sahgal might cost him his access to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It was clear that an invisible cordon had been drawn around her. And it wasn't just professional isolation. In one of the most chilling moments of her life, she later wrote, she began to suspect that her phone was being tapped and her movements monitored. Despite pressure, even from her own mother, to steer clear of politics, Sahgal refused to remain silent. In December 1975, at the height of the crackdown, she authored a pamphlet sharply critical of the regime. She condemned the jailing of political dissidents and the authoritarian drift of the Congress. Her outspokenness, however, came with consequences. Thousands were imprisoned under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), many without formal charges. While Sahgal narrowly escaped arrest, those close to her were warned of looming threats. Siddhartha Shankar Ray, then West Bengal Chief Minister and a key figure in the Emergency-era apparatus, allegedly told Sahgal's sister that Nayantara could be picked up 'any time". Yet she remained undeterred. In her 1977 book A Voice for Freedom, she recalled being asked to present her manuscript for A Situation in New Delhi to the Chief Censor, Harry D'Penh. He suggested she obtain permission from the Home Ministry. She refused. 'I brought my manuscript home and forgot about it," she wrote, adding, 'It had no importance in the face of the pain… of those thousands of anonymous people who were not even in a position to protest." The state's grip extended to literary freedom itself. Vidya Charan Shukla, then Minister of Information and Broadcasting and a key figure in Indira Gandhi's inner circle, allegedly told Sahgal's mother that her daughter would no longer be able to write about politics. Vijayalakshmi Pandit shot back, asserting that politics was hardly the only subject her daughter could write about, though the remark did little to blunt the censor's blade. What stung even more was the betrayal within her own political lineage. With the Congress increasingly resembling a personality cult around Indira and Sanjay Gandhi, Sahgal began to drift toward opposition voices. She surprised many by expressing openness to the Jan Sangh, a party previously considered taboo in liberal Nehruvian circles. At one public event, she reportedly told Jan Sangh leader Subramanian Swamy, 'People need to be told that the Jan Sangh does not have three horns and a tail." Meanwhile, in Parliament and government, a different spectacle was unfolding – a grotesque competition in sycophancy. With the 42nd Amendment, Indira Gandhi's regime extended the life of the Lok Sabha and attempted to curtail judicial review. Congress leaders vied to outdo one another in praise. Devakanta Barua famously declared, 'India is Indira, Indira is India." But AR Antulay pushed the envelope further, hailing Indira as 'the daughter of Nehru, the daughter of Bharat, the daughter of the past, present and future," and praising her for cleansing the party of Nehruvians, the very tradition Sahgal held dear. Not to be left behind, Defence Minister Bansi Lal went as far as to suggest that elections were unnecessary altogether. According to a revealing conversation with BK Nehru, Indira Gandhi's cousin, Bansi Lal reportedly said, 'End all these electoral hassles… our sister should be made Prime Minister for life. Make her President and then there is no need to do anything." All signs pointed to Sanjay Gandhi, the unelected and constitutionally unaccountable power centre, as the shadow orchestrator of much of this excess. In bureaucrat BN Tandon's PMO Diary: The Emergency, published much later in 2006, an entry dated 28 May 1976 exposes the pettiness that defined the Indira Gandhi regime. It recounts how Indira vetoed a proposal to allot an LPG agency to the poverty-stricken sister of K Kamaraj, a veteran Congress leader, simply because she remained loyal to the 'old Congress" and refused to shift allegiance to Indira's faction. This quiet cruelty, dressed in administrative decisions, was the defining trait of the Emergency. And for people like Nayantara Sahgal, the cost was personal, professional, and emotional. Yet her resolve remained. In defiance of silence, she chose to write. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated! First Published: June 25, 2025, 14:37 IST
Time of India
30 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Like Hiroshima': Trump says US strike on Iran ended war; 'set nuclear programme back by decades'
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Iran's nuclear programme has been "set back decades", a day after he claimed to have brokered a truce between the Shiite state and Israel. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now "They're not going to be building bombs for a long time," said Trump, insisting that US strikes caused 'total obliteration' at Iran nuclear sites. He also said that the ceasefire between the Jewish nation and the Khamenei-led state was "going very well". Drawing a parallel between World War II and June 22 US strikes against Iran, Trump said: "That end ended the war. I don't want to use an example of Hiroshima. I don't want to use an example of Nagasaki. But that was essentially the same thing. That ended that war." Notably, in the Pacific, after intense battles and Japan's refusal to yield, the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan surrendered shortly after, bringing the war to an end in 1945. Speaking on the possibility Iran resuming the enrichment of uranium beyond permitted levels, Trump said: "I think they've had it, they just went through hell... the last thing they want to do is enrich." Trump also claimed "great progress" has been made in Gaza, suggesting the US strikes on Iran could have a positive impact on West Asia.
United News of India
30 minutes ago
- United News of India
SAD's Majithia arrested in assets case
Chandigarh, June 25 (UNI) Shiromani Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia was today arrested in a disproportionate assets case after the state Vigilance Bureau raided his Amritsar house. The former Punjab minister was present in the house at the time of the raid and confronted officials alleging that they had "barged into his house." Ruling Aam Aadmi Party spokesman said the raids were being conducted at 25 places across Punjab under the 'war against drugs' campaign and that if Majithia had done no wrong, he should not fear. Besides SAD, opposition parties like BJP and Congress have come out in support of Majithia, alleging that it was a case of political vendetta. BJP leader and Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu said that the "misuse" of VB by Bhagwant Singh Mann's government was a sign of shallow politics. He compared it to the Emergency imposed in 1975. Bholath MLA and Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira said that Punjab has become a police state. Majithia at the time of being taken into custody said the AAP government had failed in the NDPS case in the Supreme Court, and that this case too would not stand judicial scrutiny. UNI GS MR PRS
