Kharge slams Centre's Emergency commemoration as political diversion

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge accuses the BJP of distracting from its failures with a circular on 'Samvidhan Hatya Divas', and calls the Modi govt an 'undeclared emergency'

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday said his party’s Samvidhan Bachao (Save the Constitution) Yatras have rattled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is why the central government has issued a circular directing states to observe Samvidhan Hatya Divas (Constitution Murder Day) to mark the 50th anniversary of the imposition of the Emergency.

 

Addressing a press conference at the Congress’ Indira Bhavan here, Kharge referred to a Union Culture Ministry letter to chief secretaries of all states and Union Territories, calling for a year-long commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency on June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Divas. He said the BJP was resorting to this “drama” to deflect attention from its governance failures, such as rising prices, joblessness, corruption, economic stagnation and growing inequality.

 

 

Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s criticism of the Congress over the imposition of the Emergency in 1975, Kharge said a government that has no tolerance and suppresses fraternity and liberty has no right to lecture others. He alleged the BJP had no role in the freedom movement or in the framing of the Constitution and accused the Sangh Parivar of having once burnt copies of the Constitution at Ramlila Maidan, claiming it did not reflect Indian traditions such as the Manusmriti.

 

The Congress president accused the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of creating a state of “undeclared emergency” over the past eleven years. He claimed the country was witnessing a breakdown of constitutional values, particularly the erosion of free expression. “Even students and journalists who question the government are branded deshdrohi,” he said. 

 

Kharge also criticised Prime Minister Modi for never attending an open press conference or taking unscripted questions, claiming the PM only interacts with selected journalists with pre-approved queries.

 

The Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha reiterated the charge that the Modi government prioritises a few industrialists at the expense of small and medium enterprises. “India has many industrialists, but the government favours only three or four. The poor are getting poorer, the rich richer, and Modi is handing the nation’s wealth to his friends,” he said.

 

Kharge questioned the PM’s silence over former US President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan. “Trump claimed credit multiple times, yet our PM did not have the courage to respond even once,” he said.

 

He also criticised the prime minister for not visiting strife-torn Manipur and for attempting to politicise the Pahalgam terror attack while campaigning in Bihar, even as the Congress stood with the government to protect the nation.

 

Kharge further alleged that the Election Commission had become a kathputli — or puppet — of the government.