logo
Congress should apologise to Dalits, underprivileged & all citizens for Emergency: CM Yogi Adityanath

Congress should apologise to Dalits, underprivileged & all citizens for Emergency: CM Yogi Adityanath

CHIEF MINISTER Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday said that amending the Preamble of the Constitution during the Emergency by adding the words 'secular' and 'socialist' was an 'attack on the soul of India.'
Adityanath inaugurated a seminar titled 'The Dark Chapter of Indian Democracy' in Lucknow to mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, observed by the BJP as 'Constitution Murder Day.' He said, 'The Congress should apologise to Dalits, underprivileged people and all citizens for the Emergency. The party had silenced the voices of those whom Babasaheb Ambedkar had empowered through his writings.'
The CM also announced the facility of cashless treatment for the 'Loktantra Senanis' (those who fought for democracy during the Emergency) and their family members. He said that neither the Samajwadi Party nor the RJD had made any statement or social media post on 'Constitution Murder Day.' Senior leaders of these parties once opposed Congress for strangling the Constitution and protested against Congress' dictatorship. However, today those same leaders are bowing before Congress for their own interests, he added.
He said that these people talk about democracy and the Constitution, yet they embrace those who destroyed democratic values and insulted Ambedkar. Their 'double standards' are dangerous for democracy, he said.
Yogi said that 'dynastic parties such as the Congress, SP and RJD have no right to talk about the Constitution because whenever they got a chance, they suppressed democracy. 'Today provides an opportunity to expose those people who, under the guise of democracy, shamefully sacrificed India's values and ideals for their selfish interests. The Samajwadi Party, RJD, and their allied parties are following the same path,' he added.
CM said that every section of society had made countless sacrifices for democracy and the Constitution. Ambedkar, despite facing many humiliations, drafted the Constitution for India's citizens with his intellect. Yet, Congress wasted no time in crushing that Constitution.
He reminded people that on June 25, 1975, Congress held the legislature, executive, and judiciary hostage. They silenced the media through censorship. Even then, many people dedicated themselves to saving democracy — over one lakh democracy fighters were jailed. Every section of society fought to protect democratic values.
'The sin committed by Congress and then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25 to stay in power will never be forgotten. One family turned the dreams of great freedom fighters into tools for their narrow political ambitions. Even today, there are people living under the shadow of that family,' the CM added.
He recalled a slogan — 'Tera Vaibhav Amar Rahe Maa, Hum Din Char Rahe Na Rahe' (May your glory live forever, Mother India. Even if we live only a few days). But Congress shattered this resolve with its slogan, 'Meri Satta Banhi Rahe, Chahe Loktantra Rahe Na Rahe' (Let my power last, even if democracy doesn't).
The CM also pointed out that keeping Babasaheb Ambedkar away from Parliament in 1952, declaring the Emergency in 1975, the 1984 massacre of Sikhs, and Rahul Gandhi tearing up an ordinance in 2013 were all anti-democratic acts. These actions insulted the feelings of freedom fighters and revealed Congress' true character, he said.

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

RSS demands Congress apology over Emergency: Seeks removal of ‘socialist' and ‘secular' from Preamble; asserts not part of Constitution earlier
RSS demands Congress apology over Emergency: Seeks removal of ‘socialist' and ‘secular' from Preamble; asserts not part of Constitution earlier

Time of India

time36 minutes ago

  • Time of India

RSS demands Congress apology over Emergency: Seeks removal of ‘socialist' and ‘secular' from Preamble; asserts not part of Constitution earlier

RSS General Secretary Dattatreya Hosabale (ANI) NEW DELHI: The RSS on Thursday urged a review of the words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Constitution's preamble, citing they were added during the Emergency and not included in the Constitution drafted by BR Ambedkar. RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabole was addressing an event marking 50 years of the Emergency and said, 'Babasaheb Ambedkar never used these words in the preamble of the Constitution. The words were added during the Emergency, when fundamental rights were suspended, Parliament did not function, and the judiciary became lame." He said that discussions were previously held on this issue, but no concrete outcome was achieved regarding the removal of these words. "So whether they should remain in the preamble should be considered,' said Hosabole. Taking a jab at the Congress, Hosable demanded an apology for the excesses committed during the Emergency era which witnessed large-scale forced sterilisation, incarceration of people, and the curtailment of the freedom of judiciary and press, he recalled. "Those who did such things are today moving around with Constitution's copy. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Oldest Stars Who Are Still Alive And Often Forgotten Boite A Scoop Undo They have still not apologised... Apologise," he said. Earlier on Tuesday, union home minister Amit Shah had called the Emergency which was imposed on June 25, 1975, a 'dark chapter' and said that the 'nation never bows down to dictatorship'. Shah asserted that the Modi government has decided to observe June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' annually across the nation. The Emergency had altered key elements such as the Preamble and the Constitution, weakening the Judiciary and suspending democratic rights, Shah had said. The Union Cabinet on Wednesday had passed a resolution denouncing the Emergency imposed by former prime minister Indira Gandhi. The Cabinet held a meeting chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi and observed a two minute silence as a 'tribute to those whose constitutionally guaranteed democratic rights were taken away and who were then subjected to unimaginable horrors.'

Rahul Gandhi may be wrong on Maharashtra poll fixing, but EC must come clean with data
Rahul Gandhi may be wrong on Maharashtra poll fixing, but EC must come clean with data

India Today

timean hour ago

  • India Today

Rahul Gandhi may be wrong on Maharashtra poll fixing, but EC must come clean with data

The credibility of India's electoral democracy hangs in delicate balance as the Congress and the Election Commission (EC) engage in a high-stakes confrontation over the fairness of the Maharashtra assembly elections last year. While Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's allegations of electoral manipulation suffer from selective data interpretation, the EC's dismissive responses equally fail to address legitimate concerns with substantive evidence. This impasse threatens the very foundation of public trust in India's electoral June 26, the Congress escalated its demands, calling for the EC to provide 'digital, machine-readable' copies of Maharashtra's voter lists from both the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly elections, along with CCTV footage from polling day. This demand came through the EAGLE (Empowered Action Group of Leaders and Experts) team, established specifically to coordinate electoral matters between the Indian National Congress and the Congress letter to the EC came in response to the poll body's June 12 invitation to Rahul for a discussion aimed at resolving confusion over the assembly poll has consistently claimed that the assembly elections in Maharashtra were rigged in favour of the BJP-led alliance, using a mix of voter roll manipulation and last-minute turnout spikes to tilt the scales. In a June 7 newspaper column, he laid out his case, citing a sharp and sudden rise in voter registrations in constituencies where the BJP had fared poorly in the Lok Sabha elections, and an unusual jump in turnout after 5 pm on polling day. The EC dismissed the charges as misleading and invited Rahul for a discussion, but the Congress has refused to engage unless the requested voter data and footage are the core of Rahul's argument is the claim that the number of registered voters in Maharashtra jumped from 92.9 million in May 2024 (Lok Sabha elections) to 97 million by November 2024 (assembly elections)—an increase of 4.1 million in just five months, following a five-year increase of only 3.1 million since 2019. This acceleration in voter registration, Rahul argued, appeared suspiciously historical data (see table: Maharashtra Voter Trends) reveals that such surges are not unprecedented. During Congress rule in 2004, voter registration increased by 32 per cent in the five months preceding assembly polls. The 2009 elections, also under Congress governance, witnessed a 30 per cent jump. Most dramatically, 2019 recorded an 84 per cent surge in the final five months before elections. In this context, the 2024 increase of 49 per cent appears substantial but not historically anomalous. More specifically, Rahul alleged that new voter registrations were concentrated in approximately 12,000 of Maharashtra's 100,000 booths, primarily in 85 constituencies where the BJP had underperformed in the Lok Sabha elections. The Kamthi constituency served as his primary case study: while the Congress maintained roughly similar vote totals between the Lok Sabha (136,000) and assembly elections (134,000), the BJP's tally surged from 119,000 to 175,000, an increase of 56,000 votes that Rahul attributed to the 35,000 newly registered voters in the statistical analysis reveals the limitations of this argument. The BJP's 2024 vote-share of 54 per cent represented a recovery to its 2014 levels (exactly 54 per cent) after a dip to 44 per cent in 2019. The party has consistently won this seat since 2004, making its performance less exceptional than Rahul suggests. While the concentration of new voters warrants investigation, attributing voting patterns solely to new registrations oversimplifies electoral Rahul's most provocative claim concerned the mathematical impossibility of Maharashtra's voter registration exceeding its adult population. He cited 'government estimates' showing the state's adult population at 95.4 million compared to 97 million registered voters. The 2019 Population Projections for India and States report, by the National Commission on Population, places Maharashtra's adult population at 91.4 million in 2021, projected to rise to 98.1 million by 2026. A midpoint estimate for 2024 would be around 95.3 million, below the voter roll these are projections, not exact figures, and similar discrepancies have occurred elsewhere. For instance, in the Karnataka assembly polls in 2023, 52.1 million voters were registered despite the state's 2023 projected population being just 50.1 million. The number of registered voters even exceeded the 2026 projection of 51.9 million. The Congress won that election without raising concerns about inflated voter most intriguing allegation—and the one most difficult to verify through public data—concerns the dramatic increase in voter turnout after official polling hours. On polling day, the provisional turnout at 5 pm stood at 58.22 per cent. By the next morning, it had risen to 66.05 per cent, a jump of 7.83 percentage points or roughly 7.6 million votes. Rahul claims this swing exceeds patterns (see table: Maharashtra Turnout) from previous Maharashtra elections and, therefore, has demanded access to CCTV footage and digital voter lists to probe it. Here, the EC's defensiveness is troubling. On the CCTV footage request, the EC cited privacy concerns and voter security, arguing that footage could enable identification of voters and expose them to potential intimidation. Intriguingly, on May 30, a week before Rahul's article was published, the EC revised its guidelines, reducing the retention period for election footage from varying periods up to one year to a uniform 45 days after result declaration, citing 'recent misuse' of such materials. It also clarified that such recordings were only internal management tools, not a legal voter lists, the EC maintained that the Congress already possessed the rolls, having received draft lists in August 2024 and final versions in late August or September. The EC noted that of 19,27,508 claims and objections received during the revision process, only 89 appeals were filed against additions or deletions, suggesting minimal concerns at the the Congress now demands—and what the EC has yet to provide—are machine-readable, digital versions of both the 2024 Lok Sabha and assembly voter lists to enable systematic comparison. As the Congress letter of June 26 articulated: 'To investigate this thoroughly, any rational person would agree that the starting step is to compare the final electors list for Maharashtra 2024 Lok Sabha elections and final electors list for Maharashtra 2024 Vidhan Sabha elections.'advertisementWhile the Congress's allegations suffer from selective data interpretation and fail to account for historical precedents, the EC's reluctance to provide comprehensive, verifiable data undermines its credibility as an impartial arbiter. The EC bears a higher burden of proof precisely because it serves as the guardian of electoral no political party, including the Congress, should be permitted to erode public confidence in the electoral process through unverified or anecdotal claims. If the election process was fair and above board, it is in the interest of Indian democracy and the EC's own credibility to counter the charges with evidence-backed, data-driven clarity, not just indignation. Let the facts speak louder than to India Today Magazine- EndsMust Watch

HSGMC, dissident Akali leaders and RSS ideologues come on same platform to observe 50th anniversary of Emergency as ‘Black Day' in Kurukshetra
HSGMC, dissident Akali leaders and RSS ideologues come on same platform to observe 50th anniversary of Emergency as ‘Black Day' in Kurukshetra

Time of India

timean hour ago

  • Time of India

HSGMC, dissident Akali leaders and RSS ideologues come on same platform to observe 50th anniversary of Emergency as ‘Black Day' in Kurukshetra

KURUKSHETRA : The leaders of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC), from dissident group of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and ideologues of Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh were seen on the same platform at an event organised by HSGMC to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency by organizing a 'Black Day' at Kurukshetra University (KU). The event, led by HSGMC chief Jagdish Singh Jhinda, honoured individuals who endured political persecution during the Emergency imposed by the then Indira Gandhi-led Congress government. Among the notable attendees were former MP Prof Prem Singh Chandumajra, who was among the youngest to be jailed during the Emergency, former Punjab cabinet minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa, both from dissident SAD group, Kanwarpal Singh Tohra grandson of former SGPC President Gurcharan Singh Tohra, KU's former Vice Chancellor (VC) DDS Sandhu, 48 Kos Pilgrimage Monitoring Committee Chairman and RSS ideologue Madan Mohan Chhabra, Advocate Mahinder Singh Tanwar and others. Distinguished guests were honoured with a model of Sri Darbar Sahib, a portrait of Baba Banda Singh Bahadar, and shawls. The ceremony was emceed by Kuldeep Singh. In his address, Chandumajra recounted his personal experience during the Emergency, describing the repression by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi 's government. 'In her desperate bid to cling to power, she imprisoned many prominent leaders, including top Akali and RSS members. 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 Đăng ký Undo I was one of the youngest prisoners at the time,' he said, sharing the harsh conditions political prisoners faced. Madan Mohan Chhabra said, 'Congress is the only party which has made a joke of the Constitution the most in the country, whether it comes to amendment or imposing Emergency on the people. Emergency period was a terror on the people by the Indira Gandhi government, which was strongly resented by people of Punjab especially the RSS, Jan Sangh and Akali leaders.' Other speakers, including Parminder Singh Dhindsa, Dr DDS Sandhu, and Kanwarpal Singh Tohra, reflected on the suppression of democratic voices during the 21-month-long Emergency and emphasized the need to preserve democratic values. Jhinda expressed gratitude to all attendees and emphasized that the purpose of commemorating the Emergency as a 'Black Day' was to honour those who suffered and to remind the nation of the oppressive chapter in Indian history. Call to Rename IGI Airport Delhi after Guru Tegh Bahadar HSGMC's Dharam Prachar chairman Baljit Singh Daduwal proposed renaming Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport after Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Sikh Guru. 'Indira Gandhi has no significant contribution to the nation,' he said. His suggestion was met with chants of 'Bole So Nihal… Sat Sri Akal' by the congregation. Daduwal also announced that HSGMC would send an official letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this demand.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store