"Black blot on India's democracy": Union Minister SP Singh Baghel on 50th anniversary of Emergency
New Delhi [India], June 25 (ANI): Union Minister SP Singh Baghel on Wednesday slammed the Congress and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing the emergency 50 years ago, calling it a 'blot on Indian democracy' adding that he feels ashamed to call India a mother of democracy because of the 'actions of one person.'
'When we say that India is the mother of democracy, anyone can stop us and point out that there is this 21-month black blot on your country. There was no internal crisis or external crisis, but only a constitutional crisis that Indira Gandhi's election was declared void, so that one person can save their seat by imposing an emergency and sending the entire opposition to jail,' Baghel told ANI here.
Talking about the rights of people being curtailed and press freedom being clamped down on, he added, 'Democracy has been going on for a long time in our country, but due to the actions of Indira Gandhi, this is a black blot on India for which I feel ashamed. The rights of people were curtailed, the structure of the Constitution was changed...'
Earlier today, Union Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan termed imposition of Emergency as the 'biggest blot' in the history of Independent India.
Lashing out at the Congress party, Chouhan stated that the countrymen should take a 'pledge' that such a day would not come again in India.
'Can those days be forgotten? The country will never forget that the day is the biggest blot in the democratic history of independent India - Samvidhan Hatya Diwas. The country should take a pledge that this day should not come again', Chouhan told ANI.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is observing the 50th anniversary of the Emergency as the 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas'. India was placed under a state of Emergency from June 25, 1975, to March 21 1977, following the implementation of Article 352 of the constitution. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
33 minutes ago
- Time of India
Call for official celebration of VP Singh's birth anniv
1 2 Lucknow: A demand was made to officially observe former Prime Minister Vishwanath Pratap Singh's birth anniversary by the govt, similar to celebrations for other former PMs and CMs. The appeal was made by general secretary Mandal Masiha VP Singh society, Abdul Naseer while chairing a programme organised to commemorate VP Singh's 94th birth anniversary in the city on Wednesday. Naseer urged the central and state govts to implement all recommendations of the Mandal Commission in full. Chief guest, former minister and Mohanlalganj MP R K Chaudhary said: "Singh's historic work on social justice must be enforced completely. Today, democracy is in danger, and it is our collective responsibility to protect it. Parliament is the temple of democracy and the Constitution, not the Sengol, should be its centrepiece." Speakers stressed that representation—not just reservation—is necessary across all sectors, including top-level services, private jobs, ownership, contracts and leases.
Time of India
36 minutes ago
- Time of India
Congress leaders harbouring Emergency mindset: BJP MP
Indore: BJP MP and spokesman Sudhanshu Trivedi on Wednesday accused Congress leaders of harbouring 'Emergency period mindset' that they were above Constitution and their ambitions outweighed national interests. "Congress believes in the objectionable slogan of 'India is Indira and Indira is India.' The same mindset of Emergency remains prevalent in the party even today. And leaders like Rahul Gandhi consider themselves above Constitution," Trivedi said while addressing a press conference to mark 50 years of Emergency. He said that June 25, 1975 marked a black chapter in the history of Indian democracy as fundamental rights of citizens were trampled, freedom of expression was shackled, and voices of the Opposition were crushed. "Congress wants to run the country according to its convenience. If it wins elections, it doesn't have any problem with Constitution, but after any setback in polls, it starts claiming that the Constitution is in danger," he said, referring to Lok Sabha LoP Rahul Gandhi waving the 'red book' in Congress rallies. Trivedi questioned Gandhi's comments during his foreign visits and said, "Months ago, Rahul Gandhi went abroad and asked why the defenders of democracy - US and Europe - were silent on India. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like The Dark Truth Nobody Talks About! Expertinspector Click Here Undo Calling them defenders… Such utterances show the party's Emergency mindset. Their political ambitions outweigh interests of the nation." To a query, Trivedi said that the West Asia crisis was nothing but a fight between Muslim countries for supremacy. "One pole of this fight is Saudi Arabia, the leader of the Sunni world, and the other pole is Iran, the leader of the Shia world. We hope that a positive spirit will emerge and the crisis in West Asia will be resolved peacefully soon," he said.
Time of India
38 minutes ago
- Time of India
Emergency imposed to protect monarchy of one family: Union minister
Bhopal: While the state Congress was holding a hunger fast in Gwalior, the ruling BJP observed a state-wide Black Day, recalling the imposition of Emergency by the erstwhile Indira Gandhi Union govt on June 25, 1975. Addressing a seminar on Emergency at the state BJP headquarters on Wednesday, Union minister for Jal Shakti, CR Patil, said that Congress's Nehru-Gandhi family wanted to rule as a monarchy, so they strangled democracy. He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi awakened the people by taking the truth about the Congress to the villages during the Emergency. Union minister CR Patil said that Emergency Day reminds the people of the country how to fight the forces strangling the Constitution. "Indira Gandhi and the Congress party made many amendments to the Constitution for their personal interests. There are certain conditions for imposing an emergency, but when Indira Gandhi imposed an emergency in the country, neither was the country fighting a war nor was there any internal problem," CR Patil argued. "This emergency was imposed only because the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's election illegal. Congress and Indira Gandhi saw power slipping from their hands, so the emergency was imposed. The Nehru-Gandhi family wanted to rule as a monarchy, so the emergency was imposed in the country, so that the Nehru-Gandhi family of Congress could continue to rule," the Union minister alleged. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo He further said that during the emergency, the Constitution was suspended and all those who were working to save the Constitution and keep the democracy of the country alive were put in jail. "Apart from the Jan Sangh and all the organisations promoting nationalist ideas, those journalists were also put in jail who wanted to bring the truth of Emergency before the people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was underground during the Emergency and went from village to village to help families of democracy fighters and to tell the public the truth about Congress," he said. "Today the people of the country have understood the truth and Congress is heading towards its decline," CR Patil said. For political appeasement, Congress has tried to put one family above the Constitution. Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi pretend to be the protectors of the Constitution by holding copies of the Constitution in their hands while taking oath in Parliament. But the Constitution that they hold in their hands does not contain any document," he said. The Union minister alleged that Congress betrays the people, and therefore, the country no longer trusts the Congress and the Nehru-Gandhi family. "Shah Commission was formed after the Emergency. It was clearly written in the Shah Commission report that there was no constitutional need to impose Emergency. At that time, those who opposed the Congress party and its policies were shot. After 1980, when the Congress govt was formed at the Centre, this report itself was destroyed under a political conspiracy," CR Patil said. He also claimed that Congress imposed its intentions on the country by adding the words secular and socialist in the preamble of the Constitution. "Indira Gandhi also destroyed the tradition of collective responsibility of the cabinet to impose emergency. As many as 8,555 people from Madhya Pradesh alone were put in jail. The democracy fighters faced torture inside the jail, they were not medically treated when they fell ill. Many nationalist organisations were banned," CR Patil said. The Union minister added, "In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi bowed his head to the Constitution and started the work to protect the Constitution, which is going on continuously. Under the leadership of the Prime Minister, work is being done to make the Constitution stronger."
