Speaker Om Birla condemned the Emergency in his first address, opposition created ruckus
New Delhi: Speaker Om Birla in his very first address today reminded the House of the Emergency and condemned it. Opposition parties created a ruckus over this. Om Birla, referring to the Emergency in the House amid opposition protests, said that the Emergency is a dark chapter of Indian democracy. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency and attacked the Constitution.
Addressing the House, Birla said that all members should work together for the nation. Appealing to the members to ensure decorum in the House, he said that there should be a difference between protests in Parliament (House) and protests on the street. After this, he asked the members to stand for two minutes of silence to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the “dark days of Emergency”. He described the Emergency as a dark chapter in the history of democracy, also cornered the Congress for it. The opposition was stunned. The opposition benches started creating a ruckus and the House was adjourned.
Om Birla said that this House strongly condemns the decision to impose emergency in the country in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the resolve of all those people who strongly opposed the emergency, fought an unprecedented struggle and took the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. That day of 25 June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India. On this day, the then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in the country and fiercely attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is recognized all over the world as the ‘Mother of Democracy’.
He said that democratic values and debates have always been promoted in India, democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. In such a situation, dictatorship was imposed on India by Indira Gandhi, India’s democratic values were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled. During the Emergency, the rights of the citizens of India were destroyed, their freedom was snatched away from the citizens. This was the period when the leaders of the opposition were put in jails, the whole country was turned into a prison. The dictatorial government of that time had imposed many restrictions on the media and also curbed the autonomy of the judiciary. That period of Emergency was an ‘injustice period’, a dark period in the history of our country.
After imposing the Emergency, the Congress government of that time took many such decisions, which worked to crush the spirit of our Constitution. By making changes in the cruel and ruthless Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), the Congress Party ensured that our courts could not give justice to the people arrested under MISA. Parliamentary Proceedings (Protection of Publication) Repeal Act, Press Council (Repeal) Act and Prevention of Publication of Objectionable Matter Act were introduced to prevent the media from writing the truth. It was during this dark period that the 38th, 39th, 40th, 41st and 42nd amendments were made in the Constitution.
The aim of these amendments made by the Congress government was to bring all the power to one person, control the judiciary and eliminate the basic principles of the Constitution. By doing this, the rights of the citizens were suppressed and the principles of democracy were attacked. Not only this, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi also talked about committed bureaucracy and committed judiciary, which is an example of her anti-democratic attitude. The Emergency brought with it such anti-social and dictatorial policies that destroyed the lives of the poor, Dalits and the deprived.
During the Emergency, people had to face the onslaught of compulsory sterilization imposed by the Congress government, arbitrariness in the name of removing encroachments in cities and the evil policies of the government. This House wants to express condolences to all those people. That dark period of 1975 to 1977 is in itself a period that reminds us of the principles of the Constitution, the importance of the federal structure and judicial independence. This period reminds us how all these were attacked at that time and why their protection is necessary. At a time when we are entering the 50th year of the Emergency, this 18th Lok Sabha reiterates its commitment to maintain, protect and preserve the Constitution created by Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
Birla said that we are also committed to keeping the principles of democracy in India, the rule of law in the country and the decentralization of powers intact. We appreciate the faith of the people of India in constitutional institutions and their unprecedented struggle, which ended the Emergency and once again established constitutional rule. It was on this day in 1975, 26 June, that the country woke up facing the cruel realities of the Emergency. It was on this day in 1975 that the then Cabinet had post-facto ratified the Emergency, approving this dictatorial and unconstitutional decision. Therefore, to reiterate our commitment to our parliamentary system and this second independence achieved after countless sacrifices, it is necessary to pass this resolution today.
He said that we also believe that our young generation must know about this dark chapter of democracy. During the Emergency, countless people had to suffer due to illegal arrests and government persecution, their families had to bear unlimited suffering. The Emergency had destroyed the lives of so many citizens of India, so many people had died. We observe two minutes of silence in memory of such dutiful and patriotic citizens of India who lost their lives at the hands of the dictatorial government of Congress, during that dark period of Emergency.
