Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (File).
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi and senior members of the INDIA bloc met Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla Thursday to formally protest his reference, in Parliament, to the "dark days of the Emergency".
The opposition - including the NCP's Supriya Sule Misa Bharati from the RJD, and Kanimozhi of Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK - said Mr Birla's actions were "a very grave matter impacting Parliament's credibility" and expressed "profound concern and anguish over this travesty of parliamentary traditions".
In the meeting Mr Gandhi is believed to have told Mr Birla - who read out a resolution flaying the government at the time (led by the party's Indira Gandhi) - that the reference, and the call for two minutes' silence, which triggered howls of protest from the opposition benches, was unnecessary.
"Yesterday, that is June 26, 2024, at the time of offering felicitations on your election as Lok Sabha Speaker, there was general camaraderie in the House... as such occasions generate. However, what followed... reference from the Chair in regard to declaration of Emergency, is deeply shocking."
"Making such a political reference from the Chair is unprecedented in the annals of the history of Parliament. This, coming from the Chair, as one of the first duties of a newly elected Speaker, assumes even greater proportions," a letter addressed to the Speake, signed by KC Venugopal, said.
"So many things were discussed... about functioning of Parliament. Of course this issue also came up and Rahulji, as Leader of the Opposition, told the Speaker the reference could have been avoided. It was clearly a political reference... it could have been avoided," Mr Venugopal told press this evening.
What Lok Sabha Speaker Said On Emergency
Mr Birla's jabs Wednesday - he did not name the Congress but the reference was obvious - shattered what little goodwill crept into its relationship with the BJP following his re-election as the Speaker.
Addressing the House after his election, Mr Birla called for two minutes' silence to remember "the determination of all those who opposed Emergency" and flayed the government at the time.
READ | Speaker's 2-Minute Silence On Emergency Triggers Protests
"On this day then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency... and attacked the Constitution. Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India (but)... dictatorship was imposed. Democratic values were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled."
"25th June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India."
Mr Birla's comments - coming as the BJP targets the Congress on this topic, as it does every year - prompted furious pushback from opposition MPs, many of whom jumped to their feet to condemn the resolution. The Congress' Shashi Tharoor called it an "unfortunate" message by the Speaker.
PM Modi Welcomed Speaker's Emergency Jab
Mr Modi lauded Mr Birla for the resolution and mention of the Emergency in Parliament, posting on X, "I am glad the Speaker strongly condemned the Emergency, highlighted the excesses committed during that time, and also mentioned the manner in which democracy was strangled."
Days earlier the Prime Minister launched a broadside of his own.
READ | PM's 'Emergency' Jab At Congress As Parliament Meets
He began the first Parliament session of his third term - after earlier emphasising the importance of consensus - by attacking the Congress and the "black spot" on the country's democratic record.
"... 50 years of the black spot on Indian democracy. New generation will not forget how the Constitution was scrapped, how the country was turned into a jail and democracy was captured."
President's Emergency Reference Today
The Congress' protests came hours after President Droupadi Murmu, addressing a joint session of Parliament, said the Emergency was the "biggest and darkest direct attack on the Constitution".
READ | President's Speech Adds To BJP's Emergency Offensive vs Congress
"But the country emerged victorious over such unconstitutional forces..." she said, amid cheers from the Treasury benches and remonstrations by the opposition.
BJP vs Congress Over Emergency
The ruling party and the opposition have gone head-to-head over the Emergency.
The opposition, particularly the Congress, has counterattacked by calling the past decade - the two terms of the Modi government - as an "undeclared Emergency", referring to claims its lawmakers have been harassed, and slapped with corruption cases, and critics of the administration silenced.
READ | "Kindly Be Impartial...": Opposition MPs' Appeal To Speaker Om Birla
Opposition MPs underlined that point this week by holding up copies of the Constitution while taking oath. And, in congratulatory messages to Mr Birla after his election, several reminded him about the mas suspension of opposition MPs - over 160 were ejected - in December last year.
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