NEW DELHI — As India marks 50 years since the imposition of Emergency on June 25, 1975, senior Congress leader and son of former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Anil Kumar Shastri, said on Wednesday that people today are living in an ‘undeclared Emergency’.
Recalling the day Emergency was declared, Shastri said, “I was a young man working at Voltas in Mumbai. I still remember the morning of June 26, 1975. When I picked up the Indian Express, its editorial column was blank in the protest; it was shocking. That was not a good time for democracy.”
Shastri welcomed the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi’s, admission that the Emergency was a mistake.
“A few months back, LoP Rahul Gandhi publicly said that the Emergency was wrong. And I agree, any curbs on freedom of speech are unacceptable in a democracy,” Shastri told IANS.
However, he believes the current situation is graver. “Today, there are even more restrictions than during the Emergency period. Whether it is newspapers, news agencies, or political parties, anyone who speaks against the government is targeted. They are slapped with ED, CBI or Income Tax raids. We are living in an undeclared Emergency.”
Speaking about the political aftermath of the 1975 Emergency, he said that Congress lost the 1977 elections because the people voted against the Emergency.
“Even Indira Gandhi lost from Rae Bareli. But when the Janata Party failed to govern, the people realised that only Congress could lead the nation. That’s why Congress returned to power with a huge majority in 1980, and again in 1984.”
Shastri also reminded that the Congress led the nation from 2004 to 2014, saying that Congress has proven time and again that it is capable of running the country responsibly.
As the political discourse reignites around the Emergency’s legacy, Shastri’s remarks add to the growing introspection within the Congress, while also sharply criticising the current regime for what he calls “more dangerous” curbs on freedom than those imposed in 1975. –IANS
