PM Modi Pays Homage to Those Who Resisted Emergency

New Delhi: Paying homage to all those "courageous people" who resisted the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said those "dark days" remain an unforgettable period in our history, totally opposite to the values India's Constitution celebrates. Several BJP leaders, including Union ministers, slammed the "dark days" under the then Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, alleging that the imposition of Emergency was a "selfish" power struggle and continues to remain a symbol of Congress' "dictatorial mentality."

"I pay homage to all those courageous people who resisted the Emergency and worked to strengthen our democratic spirit… The #DarkDaysOfEmergency remain an unforgettable period in our history, totally opposite to the values our Constitution celebrates," tweeted the PM.

Last week, in his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme, Mr Modi had described the Emergency as a "dark period" in India's history. He had said that those who supported democracy at that time were tortured and a glance at such crimes endangering the country's freedom will make it easier for the young generation to understand the meaning and significance of democracy.

Several Union ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Anurag Thakur, Kiren Rijiju, Smriti Irani, Pralhad Joshi, Nitin Gadkari and Arjun Ram Meghwal, lashed out at the Congress, saying its leadership had jailed millions overnight, keeping the "ego of a family above national interest."

Alleging that the imposition of Emergency was a "selfish" power struggle and continues to remain a symbol of the Congress' "dictatorial mentality," Union home minister Amit Shah said, "On this day in 1975, a family imposed an Emergency in the country, taking away the rights of the people and killing democracy, fearing losing power from their hands."

Tweeting in Hindi, Mr Shah wrote that lakhs of people struggled to revive democracy, facing many tortures. "I heartily salute all those patriots."

Defence minister Rajnath Singh said: "Today, democracy is alive in India due to the contribution of those who fought during the Emergency, went to jail and suffered torture. The coming generations of India can never forget their contribution."

External affairs minister S. Jaishankar said the days of Emergency were a "defining political experience" of his generation and "a lifelong lesson."

"On the anniversary of the declaration of Emergency, recall those dark days and how the nation overcame this challenge," Mr Jaishankar tweeted, adding, "It was the defining political experience of my generation and a lifelong lesson to strengthen our democratic fabric."

Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tweeted newspaper clippings to remind about the press' struggle against curbs on it and the freedom of speech during the Emergency.

"Media protested curbing the freedom of speech and Press freedom under the Emergency. Power-hungry Congress muzzled the media, jailed the entire Opposition and amended the constitution unilaterally," she said in her tweet.

The Congress serves the dynasty and not the people of India, Ms Sitharaman said.

BJP president J.P. Nadda in a tweet in Hindi said the Congress' "ruthlessness left behind even the tyranny of hundreds of years of foreign rule."

"I bow down to all the patriots who fought for the establishment of democracy in such difficult times, enduring immense torture," he added.