Yogi backs Birla's condemnation motion on Emergency, calls Congress' character as dictatorial

Lucknow: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday endorsed the motion read by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla against the Emergency in Parliament on Wednesday. He targeted Congress and claimed that the party's character remains authoritarian and dictatorial.

Speaking to the media at his official residence, Yogi expressed his gratitude to the Speaker and emphasised that the current generation has the right to know how Congress acted against democracy and the Constitution post-independence.

Targeting the Congress party, Yogi said, "Even though faces may have changed in Congress today, its character remains authoritarian and dictatorial."

Yogi said, "Om Birla deserves heartfelt congratulations for reading a censure motion against the Emergency. We all know that on the night of June 25, 1975, the Congress-led government under Indira Gandhi attempted to strangle the very Constitution she had sworn to uphold as Prime Minister."

He added, "This was an attempt to murder the country's democracy. It is essential to inform the public about this dark deed of the Congress. The current leadership of Congress continues to mislead the country in the name of the Constitution and promises to end reservations."

Continuing his attack on the Congress, Yogi added, "Congress still does not believe in democratic values and constitutional institutions. It is their nature to question every constitutional institution of India and to cast doubts on India's democracy and electoral process in foreign countries."

Earlier in the day, in his address to the house, Birla condemned the Congress-led government's decision to impose an emergency in 1975 and the house also maintained a two-minute silence for the people who lost their lives during the period.

"This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. 25th June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India," Birla said.

"On this day, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy. Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Dictatorship was imposed on such an India by Indira Gandhi. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled," he added.

Even as the newly elected speaker was making his speech, the opposition parties continued sloganeering "Stop Dictatorship". Afterwards, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till June 27.

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate and MP from Kota, Om Birla was elected as the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha after the motion for the same was moved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and seconded by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The motion was adopted by the house through a voice vote.