Emergency was imposed to establish ‘parivarwaad’: Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: Home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said Emergency was imposed to establish “parivarwaad”, or dynastic politics, and had turned the entire country into a prison.Addressing an event to mark ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’, he said it was important to remember the imposition of Emergency as a “dark chapter” in the history of post-Independence India so that in future, no person could foist their dictatorial mindset against the Constitution.In a sharp attack on Indira Gandhi, Shah said the then PM destroyed the spirit of the Constitution painstakingly drafted by Babasaheb Ambedkar and others through a single sentence — “The President has declared Emergency.”Shah said the country would never forget the injustice and atrocities committed by Congress during Emergency.“The whole world knows that there was no threat to the security of the nation, but the then PM’s chair was in danger, so Emergency was imposed,” Shah said.

Recalling the period, Shah said the idea that “party is bigger than the nation, family is bigger than the party, individual is bigger than the family, and power is bigger than the national interest” flourished during Emergency. In contrast, under PM Narendra Modi’s leadership, the thinking of ‘nation first’ was resonating in the minds of people, he added.The home minister said in 2014, Modi uprooted dynastic politics and as a 25-year-old, he had opposed Indira’s “dictatorship”.

“The way the country was turned into a prison, the soul YEARS OF of the country made dumb, the courts made deaf and pens of writers made to fall silent, keeping those things in mind and after giving it a thought, it was decided to commemorate the day of imposition of Emergency as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’. This will bring awareness in the younger generations about the incidents that happened,” Shah said.He said when it was decided to observe June 25 every year as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’, during discussions on deciding on a name, it was felt this name was “kathor (harsh) and nirmam (ruthless)” but finally this name was chosen as it seemed appropriate.“Emergency, imposed 50 years ago by a despotic ruler, whose sole aim was to preserve her dynastic rule, was one of the darkest chapters in India's history,” Shah posted on X earlier in the day. Shah, who was 11 years old in 1975, said he was a ‘bal swayamsevak’ of RSS then and had heard firsthand the excesses and injustices during Emergency.