Mumbai, Jun 25 (PTI) Former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Wednesday accused the Congress of committing the “biggest assault” on the Constitution during the Emergency and attacked opposition leader Rahul Gandhi over his “Constitution in danger” remark.
He was speaking to reporters here on the 50th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency by late former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
“Rahul Gandhi says the Constitution is in danger. But I want to ask him who attacked the Constitution more than the Congress during the Emergency? Why this hypocrisy,” asked the senior BJP leader.
“His party never apologised for jailing 1.5 lakh people and 253 journalists. Instead, Rajiv Gandhi later said the Emergency was appropriate,” he said.
Prasad alleged that during the Emergency (1975-77), writing was censored, the licences of 52 foreign journalists were revoked, and 29 scribes, including BBC’s Mark Tully, were denied entry into India. “What kind of constitutional respect is this, when even foreign media was targeted,” he asked.
Prasad said there was even interference in the judiciary during the Emergency.
“Judges were transferred, and some were not even confirmed. Nine high courts stood up against the government, but when the matter went to the Supreme Court, it upheld the Emergency.
“Only one judge, H R Khanna, dissented. He was denied the chief justice's post for showing courage. The Congress punished him for standing by democracy,” he said.
Prasad said the BJP is observing the day as ‘Constitution Murder Day’. He said the Emergency was imposed without even taking the Cabinet into confidence.
Referring to the sterilisation drive pushed by Sanjay Gandhi, Prasad said, “Sixty lakh people were forcibly sterilised, including unmarried men. What justification does the Congress have for this? Why did they never apologise,” he asked.
After the Emergency was lifted in 1977, people gave their verdict by voting Indira Gandhi out of power. “It was the people’s realisation that saved democracy,” he said.
Responding to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge’s remarks branding the BJP's focus on the Emergency as “faltu (trivial) work”, Prasad asked, “Why does the Congress get so defensive? I want to ask them a pertinent question – what is your problem with accepting the truth?”
He claimed that the Congress brought in changes to prevent the PM’s election from being challenged, extended Parliament’s tenure to six years, and even removed the quorum requirement. These were direct attacks on parliamentary democracy, he said.
The former Union minister said the ruling BJP is committed to preserving democracy and transparency in public life. “At the time of the Emergency, (PM) Narendra Modi was just a young man wearing a turban and working in Gujarat. Today, as prime minister, he is upholding the values the Congress once undermined,” he said.
Prasad said the younger generations should know India’s political history. “The harsh truth and hypocrisy of the Congress must be exposed. The youth must understand how democracy was throttled and who was responsible,” he added.
The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975. The 21-month period saw the suspension of civil liberties, and arrest of opposition leaders and the suppression of press freedom.