Those who imposed Emergency have no right to profess love for Constitution, says PM Modi

New Delhi: On the 49th anniversary of Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Tuesday that those dark days are a stark reminder of how the Congress party undermined basic freedoms and ignored the Constitution, which every Indian holds in high regard.

In remarks posted on X, Modi criticised the main opposition party, saying those who enforced the Emergency have no right to claim they love our Constitution. 

Modi said, "These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution."

"The mindset which led to the imposition of the Emergency is very much alive among the same Party which imposed it. They hide their disdain for the Constitution through their tokenism but the people of India have seen through their antics and that is why they have rejected them time and again," he said.

He accused the then Congress government of sacrificing democratic principles just to stay in power, turning the entire nation into what felt like a prison. Modi added that anyone who opposed the ruling party was subjected to torture and harassment.

"Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections," he said.

On June 25, 1975, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, a Congress stalwart, imposed Emergency in India, suspending civil rights, arresting opposition leaders, silencing dissidents, and controlling the media.

The Prime Minister emphasised that this anniversary is a day to honour all the brave individuals who resisted the Emergency.

During the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha on Monday, there was a heated exchange between Prime Minister Modi and Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge regarding the imposition of Emergency.

PTI