Uttarakhand: Emergency is the darkest chapter in the history of democracy- Pushkar Singh Dhami

Describing the Emergency as the darkest chapter in the history of democracy, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Wednesday said that 50 years ago on this day, an attempt was made by the government to crush the soul of the Constitution.

In the ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ program organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, the Chief Minister said that all this was the result of one person’s dogmatism and dictatorial attitude.

He said, “50 years ago on this day, Emergency was imposed on the country and an attempt was made to crush the soul of the Constitution. The Indian Parliament was strangled, the freedom of the press was held hostage and the dignity of the judiciary was shredded.” Dhami said that the fundamental rights of millions of countrymen were trampled.

He said, “In those dark days of the Emergency, the then government, intoxicated with power, ruthlessly suppressed all opposition leaders, hundreds of journalists and every voice that was rising to protect democracy. The entire country was turned into an open prison by crushing freedom of expression. Thousands of democracy supporters were thrown into jails by imposing black laws like Internal Security Act (MISA) and Defence of India Act (DIR).”

The Chief Minister said, ”And all this was the result of one person’s dogmatism and dictatorial attitude.”

He said that the Allahabad High Court had convicted the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of electoral corruption and her Lok Sabha membership was cancelled and fearing loss of power, she declared emergency in a great democratic country like India on the night of June 25.

Dhami said that during the Emergency, great leaders like Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan, Nanaji Deshmukh and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, while being in jails, worked to awaken the youth towards democracy.

He said, ”Resisting the repression of the government, students of universities and colleges across the country took to the streets against dictatorship and started a public awakening in favor of democracy. The protest which started from many educational institutions of many cities like Delhi, Banaras, Allahabad, Patna, Jaipur, Pune, Bengaluru gradually turned into a nationwide people’s revolution.”

The Chief Minister said, ”Many social-cultural organizations including Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad also started a movement with their full strength to revive democracy. Thousands of youth accepted to go to jail, endured torture, but did not bow their heads in front of injustice.”

He said that after the freedom struggle of India, it was the second biggest people’s revolution which worked to liberate India from the monopoly of power.

On this occasion, the Chief Minister also honored those “Loktantra Senani” (Democracy Fighters) who raised their voice against the Emergency, went to jail and suffered atrocities.

He also announced to nominate nodal officers at the government level to promptly resolve the issues of democracy fighters and to increase the honorarium given to them every month in the coming time.