On the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi denounced the 1975 proclamation as the “darkest chapter” in India’s democratic history, while the Congress party accused the BJP of exploiting the occasion to distract from present-day issues such as unemployment, inflation, and demonetisation.
The Centre has officially marked the day as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ (Constitution Murder Day), commemorating what it terms a severe assault on democracy. In a series of posts on X, PM Modi condemned the Congress government led by Indira Gandhi, stating that it had “placed democracy under arrest,” suspended fundamental rights, and muzzled press freedom.
“No Indian will ever forget how the Constitution was violated, the Parliament silenced, and courts pressured. The poor and marginalised were particularly targeted,” Modi said, citing the controversial 42nd Amendment as an example of constitutional subversion.
He paid tribute to those who fought against the Emergency, noting that their collective struggle forced Congress to restore democracy and call fresh elections, which the party ultimately lost.
The Emergency, declared on June 25, 1975, by then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352, lasted until March 21, 1977. It was the third time Emergency powers were invoked in India but the first during peacetime. The government cited internal disturbances as the reason for the suspension of civil liberties.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge accused the BJP and PM Modi of deflecting from current failures. He said the BJP’s focus on a decades-old chapter was a tactic to evade accountability.
“We are witnessing an undeclared Emergency today,” Kharge said, pointing to what he called attempts to silence dissent and undermine institutions. He criticized the Modi government for issuing directives to states to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas.’
Union Home Minister Amit Shah echoed Modi’s sentiments, calling the Emergency an “era of injustice” born out of Congress’s “hunger for power.” He said the day should serve as a reminder of the people’s power to resist tyranny.
Senior journalist Rajat Sharma, who was jailed for 10 months during the Emergency, shared memories of that period, describing it as a “dark night” for democracy. He recalled participating in student protests led by Jayaprakash Narayan and secretly publishing a newsletter to counter censorship.
Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu condemned the BJP for marking the day as a “black day,” accusing the party of tarnishing the Constitution. “The same Constitution gave them power, and now they are maligning it,” he said.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Modi, passed a resolution to honour those who resisted the Emergency. It described the period as a deliberate attempt to subvert the Constitution, suppress federalism, and suspend liberties.
The political sparring on Emergency Day highlights the deep ideological fault lines between the BJP and Congress, with both parties invoking history to shape the present-day narrative.