oppn parties Tug-Of-War Over The Emergency

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Tug-Of-War Over The Emergency

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2024-07-13 06:17:02

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

The Centre has notified June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas'. It was on this day in 1975 that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had imposed the dreaded Emergency and had suspended the Constitution, with the executive assuming all powers. In a late reaction to the Opposition charge during the 2024 general election campaign that the BJP under Prime Minister Modi was 'murdering' the Constitution on a daily basis and it was time to 'Save Constitution', the government has created a 'special' day for the public to remember who can rightly (according to it) be accused of killing the Constitution.

In previous years, one had spotted posters saying "unnes sau pachattar ka pachisvan June, isi din hua that gantantra ka khoon" (25th June 1975 was the day when the Republic was killed) in some places before June 25 every year that sought to remind the people of the black day in Indian history. But no previous opposition government, not even the Janata government formed just after the Emergency was lifted, had tried to keep the memories of the darkest phase in independent India's history alive officially. The NDA government has now done so. PM Modi said that observing Samvidhan Hatya Diwas on June 25 will remind the people of "what happens when the Constitution of India was trampled over. It is also a day to pay homage to each person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress unleashed dark phase of Indian history".

There is no doubt the Emergency was the grossest misuse of executive power India has seen. The rights of the citizens were taken away just to keep Indira Gandhi and her government in power. It was dictatorship at its worst with the institutions and citizens of an independent and democratic nation under the control of a person, who, by virtue of her election being held invalid, had ceased to be the Prime Minister of the country.

But the opposition charges against the BJP-led NDA government are also not untrue. For the last 10 year, more specifically in the last 5 years, the government has enacted laws that were not discussed and debated but pushed through the Lok Sabha on the strength of its brute majority and 'managed' through the Rajya Sabha by striking opportunistic alliances or worse. Central agencies are taregting opposition leaders. Dissent is not tolerated (and it was one of the main features of the Emergency) and draconian laws are used to browbeat people. Just like the Emergency, the bulldozers are working again. But unlike the Emergency, the courts have acted as guardians of the Constitution. Just the 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' will not do. The government will have to mend its autocratic ways if it wants to pay true homage to the people who suffered from the excesses of the Emergency. If lessons are not learnt, their sufferings would have gone in vain. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.