Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets Om Birla after the latter was elected as the Speaker of the House during the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha, in New Delhi, Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauded Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla for his condemnation of the Emergency in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and said it was a wonderful gesture to stand in silence in honour of all those who suffered during those days.
Birla read out a resolution condemning the Emergency in the Lok Sabha, shortly after he was elected speaker, and flayed the then-government headed by prime minister Indira Gandhi.
A large number of MPs stood in silence for a few moments amid protests by Congress MPs and some other opposition members.
Modi said in a post on X, "I am glad that the Honourable Speaker strongly condemned the Emergency, highlighted the excesses committed during that time and also mentioned the manner in which democracy was strangled."
The Emergency was imposed 50 years ago but it is important for today's youth to know about it because it remains a fitting example of what happens when the Constitution is trampled over, public opinion is stifled and institutions are destroyed, he added.
The happenings during the Emergency exemplified what a dictatorship looks like, Modi said.