UditVani, Jamshedpur: Marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, senior BJP leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das launched a fierce criticism of the Congress party, accusing it of betraying the nation by suppressing constitutional values and democratic rights.
Addressing a press conference at the BJP Jamshedpur Mahanagar office in Sakchi on Wednesday, Das described the Emergency as the darkest chapter in India’s democratic journey.
Das alleged that then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, after her Lok Sabha membership was cancelled by the Allahabad High Court on June 12, 1975, imposed Emergency to cling to power. “Without cabinet consent, she had the Emergency proclamation signed at midnight by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, throwing the country into constitutional darkness,” he said.
The BJP leader recalled how thousands of opposition leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, and others were imprisoned. He further pointed out that the press was gagged, judiciary intimidated, and civil liberties revoked.
Sharing his personal account, Das spoke about his arrest during the period. “At 18, I was a college student active in the student movement. The police raided our makeshift student office at Bhalubasa, forcing me into hiding. Eventually, I was jailed in Jamshedpur and later in Gaya,” he said, recalling support from his mother and fellow prisoners like former MLA Dinanath Pandey.
He also referenced the police firing near Basant Talkies on July 10, 1975, in which several students were injured, calling it a pivotal moment in the local resistance. “That location is still remembered as Shaheed Chowk,” he added.
Das urged the Union Government to include the history of the Emergency in school textbooks so that future generations can learn how democracy was once strangled under Congress rule. “Just as we study the freedom movement, students should also learn how a constitutional crisis was created for political survival,” he said.
He also criticized Congress for its repeated misuse of constitutional provisions, including Article 356, to dismiss non-Congress state governments. “Those who now swear by the Constitution were the first to abuse it,” he remarked.
Das concluded by saying that the BJP’s ongoing national campaign seeks to remind citizens of the Emergency’s bitter truths. “India will never again accept dictatorship. Our people, and the BJP, remain ever vigilant in safeguarding democracy,” he asserted.
