Congress Throttled Democracy By Imposing Emergency: Yogi Adityanath

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath welcomed Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla's decision to read out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency in the country and said the Congress "throttled" democracy 50 years ago.

Soon after his election as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla on Wednesday set off a firestorm by reading out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as an attack on the Constitution by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, an act that triggered vociferous protests by Congress MPs in the House.

Mr Birla recalled that it was on June 26, 1975, that the country woke up to the cruel realities of Emergency when the Congress government jailed Opposition leaders, imposed many restrictions on the media, and also curbed the autonomy of the judiciary.

Speaking to reporters at his official residence, Yogi Adityanath said he welcomed Mr Birla's decision to read out the resolution condemning the imposition of the Emergency.

The Indira Gandhi-led government "throttled" democracy by imposing an Emergency 50 years ago, he said.

The Congress leadership might have changed but its values remain the same, the Chief Minister said.

He said everybody knows that Congress governments made 75 amendments to the Constitution and dismissed democratically elected governments 90 times since Independence.

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