Jaitley tears into Congress over 'undeclared emergency' barb, calls for introspection

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday unleashed a tirade against the Congress for cornering the Centre and accusing it of donning a dictatorial attitude and said that it was the grand old party which imposed emergency on the nation and slay democracy.

Jaitley in a Facebook post said that the Congress not only established the dictatorship of an individual, but created an environment of tyranny and fear in the society

In an article on emergency titled, "Forty Two Years Ago - The Emergency", Jaitley said, "It has become customary for the critics of any Government in India to casually use an expression "Undeclared Emergency". Those making these exaggerated comments need to introspect their own roles during the Emergency. Most of them were either supporting the Emergency or were absent in any protest against the Emergency."

"Emergency was an assault on all democratic institutions. It not only established the dictatorship of an individual, it created an environment of tyranny and fear in the society. All ingredients of an absolute dictatorship existed. There was no personal liberty, no press freedom, the Parliament became a farce, the highest Court became subservient to the dictatorship and there was no room for dissent," he added.

The Union Minister stressed that the real reason that former prime minister Indira Gandhi imposed emergency was that she had been unseated in an election petition by the Allahabad High Court and the Supreme Court had granted only a conditional stay of the High Court order.

"She wanted to continue in power and resorted to imposition of Emergency to enable this to happen. It would be in the fitness of things to remind those who loosely use a phrase "Undeclared Emergency" with what happened during that period," said Jaitley.

Jaitley further said that emergency gagged the media also, not a word could have been published without going through Censor.

"Pre-censorship was imposed on the entire news media. Not a word could be published in the newspaper without going through the censor. An officer of the censor stayed in the premises of every major newspaper. The entire activities of the opposition were blacked out and the media contained only governmental propaganda. Many of those who now complain of an "Undeclared Emergency" were either active or reluctant supporters of the emergency regime," said Jaitley.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also recalled the Emergency imposed on the country 42 years ago on June 25 during his 33rd edition of Mann ki Baat.

Calling it the darkest time in the history of India, Modi said that the country and its leaders proved their patriotism by fighting against it.