In his address to the house today re-elected Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla condemned the Congress-led government’s decision to impose the Emergency in 1975, calling it a “dark chapter in India’s democracy.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, which is considered one of the most controversial periods in India’s political history.
Mr Birla said remembering and educating the younger generation about such critical historical events is imperative. “Awareness towards the Constitution will only strengthen when the young generation knows about democracy,” Mr Birla remarked. “The Emergency is a dark chapter in India’s democracy. Then PM Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency and attacked the Constitution.”
The Indian Emergency was a 21-month period marked by unprecedented political turmoil in India. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency across the nation, citing “internal disturbance” as the reason, with President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed officially issuing the order under Article 352 of the Constitution. During this period, civil liberties were suspended, elections were cancelled, and the Prime Minister ruled with an iron fist. Political opponents were imprisoned, dissidents were forced into hiding and the press faced severe censorship.
In his address, Mr Birla did not mince words as he condemned the imposition of the Emergency. “This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. June 25, 1975, will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India,” he said.
Mr Birla said the Emergency was an assault on the democratic values enshrined in the Indian Constitution, drafted by Dr BR Ambedkar.
“India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy. Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected; they have always been encouraged. Dictatorship was imposed on such an India by Indira Gandhi. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled,” Mr Birla added.
Mr Birla’s remarks were met with boos from Congress leaders in the House.
“This is unnecessary divisive politics being played by the BJP which does not send a good message to the nation,” Congress leader Shashi Tharoor told NDTV. “The Speaker’s election went quite amicably and as you saw, all the Opposition leaders stood up and pledged cooperation with the Speaker. It’s rather unfortunate that the Speaker himself has undermined that spirit with a very divisive statement on the Emergency which frankly was not necessary.”
“A lot of water has flown in the Ganga since 1975. Indira Gandhi had expressed regret over it. She was defeated in the 1977 election. The BJP must stop driving a car only by looking at the rearview mirror. It’s quite surprising why the treasury benches are protesting. If they want to protest, they can come to the Opposition and give us an opportunity.We will gladly take it. This is not the way to start a new term. The issue of the Emergency is done and dusted. We should talk about the strangulation of institutions today. These are the things we should be talking about instead of always looking at something which happened about 45-48 years ago,” said Congress MP Karti Chidambaram.
As he was re-elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker for a second consecutive term, Mr Birla said he hoped for constructive criticism and debate in the House without disruptions. “Treasury and Opposition benches run the House together; the strength of Indian democracy is in listening to everyone and running the House with everyone’s agreement. I will expect that I run the House with everyone’s agreement. Even if there is one lone member from a party, they should get sufficient time,” he said.
Welcoming the 281 first-time members to the Lok Sabha, Mr Birla encouraged them to learn about parliamentary traditions and practices from their senior colleagues.
