Emergency Is Blot On Congress' Face Which Can’t Be Washed Out, Says CM Mohan Yadav

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Launching a pincher attack on the grand old party for imposition of Emergency in Indore 50 years ago, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav here said that the Emergency was a blot on the Congress face which can never be washed out.

“Those who invoked Emergency in this country to eliminate democracy can never be forgiven. They will never be free from this stigma,” the CM said while addressing a programme organized by the BJP at BCC on the 50th anniversary of emergency.

The event, titled “The Dark Chapter of Emergency”, saw Rajya Sabha member and national spokesperson of the BJP Dr Sudhanshu Trivedi was keynote speaker.

Trivedi began his address by calling Emergency the “most tragic and shameful chapter” in independent India's history, asserting that it was during this period that the Indian Constitution was "murdered." Highlighting India’s ancient democratic traditions—from Vedic sabhas to the republic of Vaishali and local governance under the Chola dynasty—he emphasized that the Emergency brutally disrupted these deeply rooted democratic values.

“Congress destroyed all four pillars of democracy during the Emergency—legislature, executive, judiciary and the press,” he said. He pointed out that it was the only time in Indian history when a Prime Minister—Indira Gandhi—was declared ineligible to contest elections due to electoral malpractice and in response, imposed Emergency to retain power.

Trivedi also cited controversial constitutional amendments like the 25th and 39th, which curtailed judicial powers and consolidated unchecked authority under the executive.

He recalled the brutality of the Emergency, noting how over 100,000 people were jailed under MISA and DIR laws, including senior leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Arun Jaitley and Ravi Shankar Prasad. He mentioned how Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then a young activist, played a crucial underground role in supporting the resistance, even disguising himself to help senior leaders move safely.

Dr. Trivedi drew a sharp contrast between Congress' Emergency-era authoritarianism and the BJP’s democratic spirit.

He emphasized that true political democracy in India began after the Emergency, with real power transitions starting only post-1977. He linked the cultural and ideological reawakening of India to the 1990s, marked by the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and said the fight for ideological freedom is still ongoing.

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