Sangh backed Emergency under Deoras' leadership, says Maha Cong chief Sapkal
Nagpur: Maharashtra Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal on Wednesday accused BJP of whitewashing its ideological past while launching selective attacks on the 1975 Emergency.
On its 50th anniversary, Sapkal pointed to the documented support of then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras for Emergency and questioned why BJP distances itself from that legacy.
"Balasaheb Deoras not only supported the Emergency, but even publicly disassociated the Sangh from the JP movement. Does BJP disown his stand now," Sapkal asked at a press meet. He argued that former premier Indira Gandhi's decision was taken within constitutional bounds to prevent national unrest and contrasted it with what he termed an "undeclared Emergency" under the current regime.
Sharply reacting to the allegation, RSS publicity head Sunil Ambekar said thousands of Sangh volunteers were jailed and tortured during the Emergency. "Around 100 of them died in custody or due to the trauma of incarceration. Pandurang Kshirsagar Ji, then head of our national management committee, was among them. The Emergency remains a black spot on Indian democracy," he told TOI.
BJP's national vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe told a packed audience in Nagpur that the "satyagraha movement by RSS and leaders like JP Narayan" was a reality check for Indira Gandhi, who was under the impression that people had accepted the Emergency.
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"Of the 1.3lakh people who joined the movement, 1.1lakh were from RSS and its affiliates," he said.
Defending Indira Gandhi, Sapkal, however, said, "She lifted the Emergency, called for elections, and accepted defeat. Unlike today's govt, she didn't sell off national assets to corporate cronies," he said, referring to the privatisation of ports, airports, banks, mines, and Dharavi land over the past 11 years.
Sapkal also criticised a recent govt ad campaign to exclude the national emblem while prominently featuring the 'Sengol'.
"This is a symbolic attack on the Constitution. The ultimate goal is to replace it with Golwalkar's bunch of thoughts and create a theocratic state cloaked in cultural motifs," he alleged.
Congress has released a special issue of 'Janmanasachi Shidori' featuring counter-narratives from authors like Pupul Jayakar, Kumar Ketkar, and Sena MP Sanjay Raut, aimed at presenting "the truth of the Emergency beyond BJP's propaganda. He further demanded a probe into alleged voter list manipulation in Nagpur South West, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's home constituency.
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