On the occasion of 50 years of Emergency, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said that although the faces in Congress have changed, their character and gestures remain the same.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, "They tried to completely strangle democracy by locking up all the leaders of the opposition parties of that time, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan, Lal Krishna Advani and all the leaders of the Opposition. After 50 years, the faces in the Congress have changed, but its character, its gestures are still the same, as was seen in 1975."
He said that the then Congress government strangled the Constitution of India.
He further said, "A dark chapter of India's parliamentary democracy took place exactly 50 years ago on this day late at night, when the then Congress government conspired to completely end democracy by strangling the Constitution of India. Congress government led by Indira Gandhi tried to destroy India's democracy in the darkness of the night of June 25, 1975."
The UP Chief Minister blamed the Congress for stalling the proceedings of the Parliament.
"The way they made amendments to the Preamble and tried to destroy it. They snatched the fundamental rights of the people. They eroded the rights of the judiciary. They talk about democracy, but they visit abroad and criticise democracy, raise questions about the election process, and blame the EVM for their defeats. Congress forcefully enforced Article 370. Those who are trying to stall the proceedings in Parliament have they ever obeyed the Constitution," he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi directed sharp criticism at the Congress and said that the dark days of the emergency remind how the Congress Party trampled over the Constitution of India.
Taking to X PM Modi posted, "Today is a day to pay homage to all those great men and women who resisted the emergency. The Dark Days of Emergency remind us of how the Congress Party subverted basic freedoms and trampled over the Constitution of India, which every Indian respects greatly."
He further said that just to cling on to power, the then Congress government disregarded every democratic principle.
He further shared, "Just to cling on to power, the then Congress government disregarded every democratic principle and made the nation into a jail. Any person who disagreed with Congress was tortured and harassed. Socially regressive policies were unleashed to target the weakest sections."
He wrote that those who imposed the emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution.
"These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism, and violated every aspect of the Constitution," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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