Key Points

Speaking to IANS on Wednesday, Bhandari said, “Fifty years ago, the Gandhi-Vadra family, which means the Congress Party, murdered the Constitution. They destroyed democracy, all to hold on to power. The Congress Party did this. In the last 50 years, not once has Congress apologised to the people of the country for imposing an Emergency. It was a time when the Congress Party decided what you could and could not say.”

Bhandari went on to detail the suppression of civil liberties during the Emergency, recalling how thousands were jailed for political dissent.

“On this very day, 50 years ago, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency on the country. Democracy was crushed, lakhs were jailed, including hundreds of journalists who dared to write the truth against the government. It is a chapter in history no Indian should ever forget,” Bhandari told IANS.

He emphasised that the younger generation must understand what happened during the Emergency and how the Congress regime used state machinery to suppress dissent. “People were forcibly sterilized, detained without trial, and intimidated. Families were broken, voices were silenced, and institutions were hijacked,” he said.

Bhandari also criticised the Congress Party’s refusal to acknowledge its actions.

“Even after 50 years, the Congress has not apologised. Their arrogance remains intact, even after losing power. Later, Rajiv Gandhi defended the Emergency by saying it was ‘the need of the hour’. What kind of justification was this?”

As the BJP observes ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ (Constitution Murder Day) nationwide, the party reiterated that the Emergency was one of the darkest periods in India’s democratic journey.

BJP workers and leaders are organising events across the country to ensure that future generations do not forget the lessons of the Emergency.

- IANS