Jammu, Jun 25: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) National General Secretary, Tarun Chugh on Wednesday termed the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, as the “darkest chapter in India’s democratic history, which saw complete hatya of the Constitution”.
In a statement issued here, Chugh said it was a night when the Constitution was paralysed to victimise the leaders of the Opposition and to stifle the voice of dissent coming from newspapers or social leaders.
He took strong exception to the manner the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha has been flaunting the copy of the Constitution, saying it’s time for the Gandhi family to recall how it has been violating the Constitution to stay in power.
The BJP leader said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to observe June 25 as “Samvidhan Hatya Diwas” serves as a solemn reminder of the horrors that unfolded when hunger for power overrides constitutional morality. “The Emergency was not the result of a national crisis. It was not driven by any external or internal threat. It was a consequence of dictatorial arrogance and a desperate attempt to cling to power. It wasn’t an emergency—it was an era of injustice. It was Congress’s ‘Anyaykaal’,” he said.
He underlined that Article 352 was brazenly misused, and India was turned into a political prison. “Over one lakh citizens—including opposition leaders, journalists, students, and social activists—were arbitrarily jailed without trial. The press was censored, the judiciary was pressured, and civil liberties were crushed. “Thought, dissent, and the pen were all locked behind bars. The Constitution was butchered to suit the whims of a single family,” he added.
Chugh described the night before the Emergency as “the longest night after Independence”. “The one whose morning came only 21 months later—when the people of India, through their vote in the 1977 elections, resurrected democracy and rejected dictatorship,” he said.
The BJP leader launched a fierce political attack on the Congress, stating that it has never expressed remorse for the imposition of the Emergency. “Today, the very party that once trampled the Constitution pretends to be its guardian. Worse still, those who were victims of that tyranny now sit shoulder-to-shoulder with its perpetrators, raising hollow concerns about democracy. This isn’t just hypocrisy — it’s a betrayal of their own struggle and sacrifice,” he said.
Chugh said India’s democracy is built on strong foundations. He appealed to the citizens of India, especially the younger generation, to observe June 25 not just as a date in history, but as a reminder of the dangers of authoritarianism, and to pledge themselves to protect democracy in spirit, action and thought.
