Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on Thursday morning to mark the 40th anniversary of Emergency and attacked the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government, which had declared it, for trampling over Indian democracy.
“We mark 40 years of one of India’s darkest periods – the Emergency, when the then political leadership trampled over our democracy,” Modi tweeted.
Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975 and continued till March 21, 1977, and the period was characterised by a brutal suppression of civil liberties and and arrest of key political leaders who opposed Gandhi’s move.
In subsequent tweets Modi described how the Emergency brought back memories of political resistance against clamp down on democracy.
“As youngsters, we learnt a lot during the anti-Emergency movement. Emergency was a great opportunity to work with a wide spectrum of leaders and organisations fighting for the same goal- return of democracy,” he wrote.
He wrote that inspired by Jayaprakash Narayan, a key anti-Emergency activist, many men and women had joined “the movement to safeguard our democracy”.
Modi lauded the efforts of activists who opposed the Emergency and hence safeguarded the democratic fabric of the country.
“We are very proud of the lakhs of people, who resisted the Emergency and whose efforts ensured that our democratic fabric is preserved,” he added.
BJP veteran LK Advani recently courted controversy for his comments that an Emergency-like situation could return to India. Advani had to clarify that his remark was directed at the Congress, after the opposition claimed it was a veiled swipe at Modi.
