Emergency imposed to cling to power, Constitution was trampled: CM Sarma

Guwahati, June 25 (IANS) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday launched a sharp attack on the Congress over the Emergency, alleging that the then Indira Gandhi-led government had “murdered the Constitution” and undermined democracy to remain in power.

Marking the observance of Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, the Chief Minister honoured Loktantra Senanis — individuals who resisted the Emergency imposed between 1975 and 1977 — and said their courage ensured that the democratic spirit of the country ultimately prevailed over authoritarianism.

In a series of posts on social media platform X, CM Sarma said he had the privilege of standing alongside “some of the brave women and men of Assam” who, along with others across the country, steadfastly resisted the Emergency.

“Their struggles and courage ensured that people’s power prevailed over authoritarianism,” the Chief Minister wrote while paying tribute to the Loktantra Senanis.

Targeting the Congress leadership, Sarma also referred to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and accused the party of hypocrisy on constitutional issues.

“The Constitution that Rahul Gandhi holds in his hands while making grand statements is the very same one that records how the late Indira Gandhi murdered the Constitution and the democracy of the country,” Sarma said in another post, using the hashtag #SamvidhanHatyaDiwas.

The Chief Minister further alleged that the Congress government of the time had converted the country into “a jail” by curbing democratic freedoms during the Emergency.

“Just to cling to power, the then Congress government trampled upon the Constitution and converted the country into a jail. On Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, I honoured our Loktantra Senanis and appealed that we must not let this dark chapter in our nation’s history be forgotten,” he said.

The BJP has been observing June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas to commemorate the declaration of the Emergency in 1975, describing it as one of the darkest periods in independent India’s democratic history.

The Congress, however, has consistently defended several decisions taken during that period while maintaining that lessons have been learnt from the Emergency, even as political exchanges over the issue continue between the ruling BJP and the Opposition.

–IANS

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