File photo: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with senior BJP leader LK Advani
BJP leader LK Advani has said that he fears a repeat of the Emergency as "forces that can crush democracy have become stronger" in India, in remarks that are being interpreted by rival parties as a dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"Advani ji is correct in saying that emergency can't be ruled out. Is Delhi their first experiment?" tweeted Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, whose government is locked in an ugly power tussle with the Centre.
In an
interview to The Indian Express published on Thursday, Mr Advani said: "At the present point of time, the forces that can crush democracy, notwithstanding the constitutional and legal safeguards, are stronger."
He was speaking on the 40th anniversary next week of the 1975 Emergency, when the Congress government jailed opposition leaders and imposed severe curbs on the media.
"I do not say that the political leadership is not mature. But because of the shortcomings, I don't have the confidence that it (Emergency) cannot happen again," said the 87-year-old BJP veteran, adding, "I do not see any sign in our polity that assures me, any outstanding aspect of leadership. A commitment to democracy and to all other aspects related to democracy is lacking."
The comments have been seized by critics of the BJP and PM Modi.
"LK Advani is a senior politician so it is clear where the needle of suspicion is. We have seen the authoritarian streak in the Modi government," said Left leader Sitaram Yechury.
The Congress' Tom Vadakkan saw the comments as a clear denunciation of PM Modi's leadership.
Mr Advani, who had once tried unsuccessfully to persuade his party against picking Narendra Modi as its prime ministerial candidate, was assigned the role of mentor and kept out of decision-making soon after the party took power last year.
"Advani ji was referring to institutions rather than pointing towards any individual," said BJP spokesperson MJ Akbar.
"He (Advani) is quite senior in age and experience. So he can talk to Modi. I don't think he intends any message to Modi through the interview," said MG Vaidya, a leader of the BJP's ideological mentor Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.