BJP flays Congress, allies for opposing Emergency day

New Delhi: The BJP on Saturday attacked the Congress and its allies for opposing the Centre's decision to observe June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas,' saying that even those who fought against the Emergency are ready to be called anarchists for the sake of power.

"Since a decision has been taken to observe June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Divas, there is so much pain in the hearts of those who are pretending to be the saviours of the Constitution.

"They are asking what is the need (to observe Samvidhan Hatya Diwas) when it's been 50 years (since the Emergency was imposed)," BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said.

"In the lust for power, you are ready to put the stamp of anarchy even on yourself," Trivedi charged and asked RJD chief Lalu Prasad and Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav to clarify if the JP movement was an anarchy for them as well.

Trivedi's remarks came in response to a statement by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut who, earlier in the day, said it has been 50 years since the Emergency, but the Bharatiya Janata Party continues to look at the past instead of the future.

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had imposed Emergency in 1975 as there was anarchy in the country, he had said, adding, even her future counterpart Atal Bihari Vajpayee would have imposed it had he faced such a situation.

Raut also compared Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure to Emergency.

The RJD, an I.N.D.I.A. bloc constituent, had on Friday slammed the Modi government for declaring June 25 as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas,' saying that with such moves, the BJP was seeking to recover from the "jolt" it had received in the Lok Sabha polls due to its efforts to "tamper with" the Constitution.

RJD MP Manoj Jha had also accused the ruling BJP of following "double standards" and demanded that the Centre declare January 30, the day Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated, as 'Gandhi Hatya Diwas'.

"And tell who killed 'Bapu' (Mahatma Gandhi), what was his ideological leaning, which organisation he was associated with," Jha told PTI, as he asked the ruling BJP to "look in the mirror" and apologise for misusing the central probe agencies against political rivals and harassing rights activists in the country.

Trivedi said the government's decision to observe June 25 as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas was necessary to commemorate the dark days of Emergency.

"It is worth mentioning that all those who suffered the oppression are today with the oppressors," he said.

Trivedi alleged that the Constitution was "murdered" during all the regimes of the Congress, not just in 1975.

"First amendment to the Constitution was brought by Jawaharlal Nehru to curtain freedom of speech in 1951 when even elections had not been held," he added.