Vijay Rupani said Today is the dark day of 1975, when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared an emergency, strangling democracy
Vijay Rupani, Bhartiya Janata Party leader and the Chief Minister of Gujarat, on Friday called June 25 as the dark day of 1975, while referring to the imposition of emergency in 1975 in the country.
The Gujarat CM said that June 25 is the dark day of 1975 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced the imposition of emergency which, as per the BJP leader, strangulated democracy in India.
“Today is the dark day of 1975, when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared emergency, strangling democracy,” Vijay Rupani said.
He said the country didn’t forget the ‘brutal torture’ by the party in power i.e, Indian National Congress (INC).
“The country has not forgotten the brutal torture done by the Congress on the people even today. Salute to the sons who laid down their lives to protect democracy,” Vijay Rupani tweeted.
It is in place to mention here that the Emergency refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country.
Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing “internal disturbance”, the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977.
The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be canceled and civil liberties to be suspended. For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi’s political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a mass forced sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister’s son.
The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India, and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state.
The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India’s history.
