Congress should apologise to people for imposing Emergency in 1975, says Ashok
BJP organises meeting condemning Emergency, says the Congress betrayed the Constitution and destroyed democracy
Congress leaders should tender an unconditional apology to the people for imposing Emergency in 1975, Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok said in Belagavi on Tuesday.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has made a statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has led an “undeclared emergency” for the 10 years. It amounts to saying that the people of the country should forget the Emergency that was imposed by then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi, Mr. Ashok said.
“This is not acceptable. Emergency is a dark chapter in the country’s history where the common people lost their fundamental rights, newspapers were censored and journalists and political activists were crushed with an iron hand. The violence committed on the victims and their family members cannot be forgotten,” he said.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashok speaking at an event condemning Emergency in Belagavi on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit:
P.K. Badiger
He was speaking at a meeting organised by the BJP to condemn the infamous 1975 Emergency that the country had to undergo.
Various leaders and citizens spoke on the subject, Citizens for Social Justice and violation of the Constitution during Emergency, hosted at Mahaveer Bhavan in Hinduwadi in the city.
“The Congress can forget the declaration of Emergency and the injustice done to the people. However, we cannot forget the dark day when Indira Gandhi assassinated the Constitution.”R. Ashok,Leader of Opposition in the Assembly
“The Congress can forget the declaration of Emergency and the injustice done to the people. However, we cannot forget the dark day when Indira Gandhi assassinated the Constitution. Mr. Kharge and the other Congress leaders should apologize to the people of the country for the dark episode in its history,” he said.
“Mr. Kharge has spent his entire life being loyal to the Nehru-Gandhi family. That is why, probably, even Emergency seems democratic to him,” Mr. Ashok said.
“The Congress suppressed the power of the people by declaring Emergency. We did not witness such cruelty even during the British rule,” he added.
“In this Lok Sabha elections, the Congress campaigned saying that if Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to power for the third time, the Constitution could be changed. Mr. Kharge has said that there is no democracy in the country. However, if there is no democracy in the country, the Congress and other Opposition parties would not have had the opportunity to protest in Parliament today,” he said.
Member of the Legislative Council Chalavadi Narayanaswamy said, “Today, the Congress is portraying itself as the guardian of the Constitution. It is spreading lies saying ‘Prime Minister Narendra Modi will change the Constitution’. However, Mr. Modi has made it clear that even the architect of the Constitution, B.R. Ambedkar, cannot, if he were to come again, change the Constitution.”
“There is a need for introspection today regarding the declaration of Emergency in 1975,” he added.
“The Congress betrayed the Constitution and destroyed democracy. If Dr. Ambedkar was alive today, he would seek answers from Indira Gandhi for violating the Constitution,” he said.
“Chief Minister Siddaramaiah joined the Congress in 2006. Before that, he used to make statements against Indira Gandhi on the issue of declaration of Emergency. But now he is silent,” he said.
Yuva Brigade founder Chakravarty Sulibele gave a lecture on what he believes were the events that led to Indira Gandhi declaring Emergency, the suffering of the people, control over the media, amendments to the Constitution and other topics.
Retired Captain Changappa Patil presided over the event. MLAs Abhay Patil, Vitthal Halgekar, BJP State unit vice-president Anil Benake and others were present.
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