Latest news with #anti-Emergency
Time of India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
What a clash, SIRji. Why the Opposition-EC feud is unlike any before
Photo/PTI The ongoing tussle between the Election Commission (EC) and the INDIA alliance — barring the Aam Aadmi Party — over the past few months is rather unfortunate. India has seen many fierce contests between ruling parties and the opposition, some prolonged and intense like the anti-Emergency movement, but never such a direct clash. While questions about the neutrality and fairness of the EC have been raised in the past, the current standoff — with both sides trading accusations — marks a new low. The opposition has accused the EC of 'vote chori' (stealing votes), while the EC has hit back, calling these charges baseless and damaging to the institution's credibility. While both sides share responsibility for this situation, the greater onus lies with the EC which could have defused tensions by adopting a less combative tone. Its curt and unresponsive replies to concerns raised by the opposition — particularly by Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi — led to a breakdown in even basic communication. It is worth examining how a more open, willing-to-engage response could have kept channels of dialogue intact. While the controversy has intensified in recent weeks, it actually began after the Maharashtra assembly election, when Rahul Gandhi alleged that the polls were rigged by adding fake voters and inflating turnout, particularly in key constituencies. The opposition cited an unusual surge in the number of voters between the 2024 Lok Sabha and 2024 assembly election, claiming that the voter list grew by 8% in just five months in the CM's own constituency. Some booths, according to them, saw a 20-50% surge. The EC dismissed these allegations as 'unsubstantiated' and 'completely absurd,' saying that these points had already been clarified in its 24 December 2024 reply to the INC, available on its website. It also called such claims 'disrespect towards law.' Instead of denials, the EC could have made available the voter lists of the two elections for anyone to verify. The EC also refused to release CCTV footage, citing its legal obligation to protect voter privacy. It further defended its decision to reduce the retention period for CCTV records from one year to 45 days, arguing that this aligned with the legal time limit for filing an Election Petition after results are declared. However, given the ongoing controversy, this change seemed ill-timed. Even if providing booth-level footage was technically difficult, the EC could have at least retained the original one-year storage rule, or even reinstated it to reassure the public. In response to opposition demands for footage, the EC quipped that reviewing recordings from one lakh polling stations would take one lakh days — 273 years — with no legal outcome possible. Yet, simply making the footage available, regardless of review time, might have done more to bolster transparency than withholding it altogether. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like This Could Be the Best Time to Trade Gold in 5 Years IC Markets Learn More Undo When 300 MPs from the INDIA bloc marched to its office, the EC refused to meet them, citing lack of space and noting that the original request was for a delegation of 30 MPs. Given the sensitivity of the moment, the EC could have shown greater initiative and agreed to meet the larger group, rather than offering an explanation that came across as a weak excuse. There were also demands to provide names of 65 lakh voters deleted from the electoral rolls after the special intensive revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar. The EC could have simply said that the list was provisional and that it would share it once the final list was prepared. However, it again defaulted to rigid rule-based responses. Following a recent Supreme Court order, it will now have to publish the list. When Rahul Gandhi alleged 'voter list fraud' in Karnataka's Mahadevapura constituency through duplicate entries, fake addresses and bulk registrations at single locations, the EC could have assured an inquiry, but it took a confrontationist approach and invoked Rule 20(3)(b), demanding an affidavit submitted under oath and documentary evidence. His request for machine-readable rolls was similarly rebuffed, citing a 2019 SC ruling, with the EC adding that such rolls are already available to parties and online, and that Gandhi had not filed a written complaint. The exchange further eroded already fragile communication between the opposition and the Commission. For an institution that guards the ballot, the real danger is not the volume of allegations, but the erosion of public trust when it appears unwilling to engage with them. Kumar is a professor at Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. Views expressed are personal
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘50 Years of Emergency': Political, social activists recall the ‘dark period', say ‘memories still fresh'
'It was around 10 am on June 26, 1975. I was addressing a small gathering under the banner of the Lok Sangharsh Samiti of Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, near the famous eatery Sher-a-Punjab at the junction of Lower Bazar and the Mall Road — just hours after the imposition of the draconian Emergency in the country. I still remember deputy superintendent of police-rank officer Ami Chand approaching me. He put his right hand around my neck in a friendly manner and whispered in my left ear, 'Aayo Shastri ji, thodi sair kar kai aate hain' (Come Mr Shastri, let's go for a walk). I couldn't resist, and that 'walk' lasted nearly 19 months — from June 1975 to March 1977,' Radha Raman Shastri, a former Sanskrit teacher in a government school, recalled. He was later elected as an MLA from Chopal, on a Janata Dal ticket. A native of Chopal in Shimla, 82-year-old Shastri said: 'Instead of taking me to a nearby police post, I was directly taken to the Sadar police station where they served me two chapatis and a bowl of yellow dal. I assumed, like many, that I would be held for 24 hours and then released. But that illusion was shattered when I was bundled into another police vehicle and sent to the Nahan Central Jail. There, I met many contemporaries from across the state including the senior-most Jan Sangh leader, Shanta Kumar. In 1975, I was the general secretary of the Lok Sangharsh Samiti's Himachal Pradesh unit.' 'For almost six months, I was not allowed to meet my wife and children, who had moved to my father-in-law's house. Back then, I owned a printing press at Nav Bahar in Shimla, which was raided nine times as police suspected anti-government and anti-Emergency posters were published there. Eventually, I had to sell it for Rs 12,000 despite the purchase price being Rs 1 lakh,' Shastri added. Bharat Bhushan Vaidya, an 83-year-old advocate, said: 'I was a practising lawyer back then. I remember how a large number of police personnel took me to the Boileauganj police station from my house a day after the Emergency was declared. Several others were also detained, without any explanation.' Vaidya, another resident of Shimla's Subhash Nagar, said: 'Although I was released on bail much earlier than many of my contemporaries, the real sufferers were the families of those imprisoned for nearly 19 months.' During the Emergency, each of the Nahan Central Jail in Sirmour district, Kaithu Jail in Shimla, and Solan Jail in Solan district was full with hundreds of political and social activists. According to instructions of the Central government, activists from Shimla were detained in Nahan, and the ones from Chamba in Solan — to ensure their family members would not be able to visit them. Including their family members, Shastri, Vaidya, and many others who had endured this 'dark period' attended a programme titled '50 Years of Emergency' — an exhibition, and a mock parliament — organised by the BJP in Shimla, where participants re-enacted debates between the ruling party and opposition leaders from that time.
India.com
25-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Young Narendra Modis Secret Fight Against Emergency Tyranny: Stories Of Protecting Indian Democracy
As the nation observes the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, imposed by the then Indira Gandhi government on June 25, 1975, it also marks a moment to recall the contributions and sacrifices of those who fought against the 'murder' of democracy and the suspension of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens for more than 20 months. Modi Story, a popular social media handle on X, has documented some details of the darkest hours of the Emergency and also how a young Narendra Modi struggled to defend democracy and safeguard the Constitution as a 'ground worker'. The X handle also shared some inspiring instances from the dark era, when Narendra Modi juggled between different roles to strengthen people's faith in democracy and rally students to stand up against the state oppression. It shared videos of some 'defenders of democracy' who worked with young Modi and narrated stories of how he concealed his identity during the Emergency and kept rallying the students to stand up against the dictatorship. When the Emergency was imposed, I was a young RSS Pracharak. The anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for me. It reaffirmed the vitality of preserving our democratic framework. At the same time, I got to learn so much from people across the political spectrum. I am… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 25, 2025 Vijay Rajpal, who met Modi for the first time in 1973 at the RSS office in Ahmedabad, recalled that Narendra Modi once took shelter at his house, and it was here that he learnt the art of wearing turban to avoid police lens. 'Narendra Bhai was under the watch of Gujarat police then because of his association with mass movement against Emergency. We went to Chandni Chowk area, where he bought turban and went to Gujarat disguising himself as Sardar,' he recalled. Prakash Mehta, an NRI citizen currently living in Australia, recalled the days of their resistance against Emergency under the banner of 'Navnirman movement'. 'Police were not allowed inside the campus. We worked as underground workers from this place. Narendra Modi rallied students to stand up against the Emergency. He held secret meetings in hostels and encouraged them to spread the message through graffiti in public spaces. To evade police and act swiftly, he gave them an innovative idea — making steel stencils to spray 'Emergency Hatao' in just two minutes!' he recounted. Daxesh Mehta, former Councillor in Gujarat, also reminisced the days of fightback against Emergency, where he along with young Narendra Modi worked to contribute to the movement against Emergency. 'During the peak of the Emergency, key documents and literature often had to be moved from the RSS office in Ahmedabad — which was under constant police surveillance. To avoid detection, Modi would send young boys to carry them, instead of older men, slipping past street checks unnoticed. A seemingly small task, but it reflected a young Modi's foresight and strategic clarity even under intense pressure,' he shared in video message. Swami Govind Dev Giri Mahraj, a seer of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust disclosed that not many know that during the Emergency, Narendra Modi spent several weeks in solitude, meditating at the Garudeshwar Mandir. One of the anecdotes refers to young Modi's role as 'food transporter'. Nirmal Motwani, a resident of Surat recalled: 'One of Narendra Modi's key responsibilities during the Emergency was looking after the families of jailed karyakartas. On one occasion, the wife of an imprisoned karyakarta requested him to deliver some home-cooked food to her husband. Modi agreed — and despite the constant threat of arrest, he personally went to the jail and delivered the food!'
New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Will you completely forget your father just to spread BJP's propaganda: Congress' jibe at Scindia
"The thoughts of the respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on her towering personality and contributions are inspiring for all of us," he said. Hitting back at Scindia, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Dear Maharaj, why don't you ever mention your revered father, or will you completely forget him just to spread BJP's propaganda?" "The late Madhavrao Scindia ji became an MP in Indira Gandh's government in 1980. Did you never ask your father why he was against the Sangh? Why didn't he support the Sangh in opposing the Emergency?" Khera said in a post on X. In another post, Khera said, "Balasaheb Deoras, the RSS chief at the time, went so far as to write a letter to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, congratulating her on the Supreme Court's verdict upholding her election in 1975. He outrightly distanced the RSS from the pre and anti-Emergency movements." But today, the same RSS is busy setting up shop, selling stories of resistance it never lived, the Congress leader said. "As they say, 'The father couldn't swat a fly, and the son calls himself a warrior.' The history of the RSS is built on lies and the entire story of their so-called struggle can be written on a single grain of rice," Khera claimed.
New Indian Express
22-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
A tale of twists and turns of two leaders in Kerala during Emergency
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Half a century after the country suffered through Emergency, the twists and turns that it left behind in Kerala continues to spin curious political tales. As the nation prepares to observe the 50th anniversary of Emergency on June 25, not many would be aware of how two veterans of state politics, switched to the other side of the political spectrum during the period. The dark days of the Emergency are obviously something that the entire Congress leadership in Kerala would want to forget; but not him. Senior Congress leader and former speaker N Sakthan Nadar would probably be the only leader who has happy memories associated with the period. Sakthan who was part of the Kerala Congress -- not a Congress ally back then -- underwent a two-month jail term in the initial days of Emergency in 1975. Beginning his public life via student politics at Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta, Sakthan went on to win the student union election at Thiruvananthapuram Law College as a Kerala Student Congress (KSC) candidate. He was district secretary of the Kerala Congress when he took part in the anti-Emergency protest. He was arrested from the picket line at the Secretariat. 'It was 1975. A host of leaders such as C K Hareendrdan and Selvaraj served jail terms with me. Comrade K Anirudhan was our leader in prison. I was in jail for two months,' recounts Sakthan. As fate would have it, the Kerala Congress became part of the Congress-led political front in 1976 and Sakthan crossed over to the other side. 'It was Mani sir (K M Mani) who brought me into politics. In 1977, I was fielded as a Kerala Congress candidate. In 1984, I joined the Congress and became minister and speaker. Incidentally, I'm the only leader in the entire country who has served as pro-tem speaker, deputy speaker and speaker of the house in the same assembly session,' Sakthan told TNIE. The tale takes an interesting turn, with the entry of the other leader. Even as Sakthan moved to the Congress, at around the same time, a prominent Congress leader decided to part ways with the grand old party.
