New Delhi, June 27
Union Minister Giriraj Singh on Thursday hit out at the Congress party citing the imposition of Emergency in 1975 and said that if any party has hurt the Constitution, it has been the Congress, adding that the new generation has the right to know about the period that has been called as the darkest chapter.
Speaking to ANI, BJP MP Giriraj Singh said, "The Constitution is the biggest power of the country and if anyone has hurt the Constitution, it has been the Congress party. Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an emergency in the country for her benefit and turned the country into a prison."
"Journalists' were stopped from publishing, and political leaders started getting locked up in jails. They were made prisoners, the country was lost. The new generation has the right to know about the dark period," he said.
Adding further, he said, "If President Murmu has mentioned this then discussions should take place. It's going to be 50 years since that period and this should be discussed."
"50 years hone ja rahe hai. Phir koi esa vyakti na aaye jo iss kalank ko phir se bharat ke matthe lagaye," he said.
Opposition leaders on Thursday dismissed the President's address to the joint sitting of Parliament as a "script given by the government" that was "full of lies" and also castigated the government over the repeated mention of the 1975 Emergency.
They said there is an "undeclared emergency" in the country and the Constitution is being attacked under the Modi government.
In her address, President Droupadi Murmu described the imposition of Emergency in 1975 as the "biggest and darkest chapter" of a direct attack on the Constitution and said the country emerged victorious over unconstitutional forces.
Earlier on Wednesday, Union Ministers praised Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for his speech on the Emergency and asserted that future generations should be made aware of the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
The leaders also criticised Congress for creating a ruckus while the House was condemning the Emergency and questioned whether the party supported it.
In his address to the house on Wednesday, Birla condemned the Congress-led government's decision to impose an emergency in 1975 and the house also maintained a two-minute silence for the people who lost their lives during the period.
Even as the newly elected speaker was making his speech, the opposition parties continued sloganeering "Stop Dictatorship". Afterwards, the Lok Sabha was adjourned till June 27.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh asserted that the youth of the country should know about the emergency.
Speaking with ANI, Singh said, "The people who talk about protecting the Constitution..., never in the history of India was the Constitution blown up as it was done during an emergency...The youth need to know about the time of emergency..."
The Emergency, which is considered to be one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history, was imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from June 25, 1975, to 1977.
There were political arrests, mass forced sterilization, and beautification drives, among others during the period.
All key opposition leaders at the time, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, and Jay Prakash Narayanan, among others, were either jailed or placed under detention.