Indira Gandhi accepted ‘Emergency mistake’, says P Chidambaram; slams BJP for raising issue 50 years later

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Chidambaram highlighted that the emergency was a mistake and that it was accepted by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi after the Centre, led by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), announced to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to mark the 50th anniversary of Emergency.

In an exclusive interview with ANI, P Chidambaram said, “Why is the BJP not going back to the 18th or 17th century? 75 percent of the Indians living today were born after 1975. Emergency was a mistake and it was accepted by Indira Gandhi. We have amended the Constitution so that an emergency cannot be imposed so easily.”

He further asked what’s the point of debating over the rights and wrongs of the emergency 50 years later, while stressing that ‘lessons have been learned from the past’.

“What is the point of debating the rights and wrongs of the emergency 50 years later? The BJP must forget the past. We have learned the lessons from the past,” he said.

Earlier this month, the central government, led by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), announced to observe ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ to mark the anniversary of the emergency. The decision has triggered a backlash, with opposition parties targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said in a post on ‘X’ on Friday, “In the last 10 years, your government has celebrated “Constitution Murder Day” every day. You have snatched away the self-respect of every poor and deprived section of the country every moment.”

Reacting to the Centre’s announcement, the ruling Trinamool Congress leader Kunal Ghosh said at a press conference that the BJP is trying to divert attention from its anti-people policy.

“She has been criticised. Indira Gandhi lost once and she came back to power as the Prime Minister. So that chapter was just one page of history and years later, the BJP is trying to divert attention from its anti-people policy, disasters and the bad condition of the country, they are trying to play this old card,” Ghosh said.

The Emergency of 1975 in India stands as a stark chapter in the nation’s history, marked by widespread political turmoil and civil liberties suppression. Declared by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, the Emergency saw the suspension of fundamental rights and the imposition of strict censorship, aiming to quell political dissent and maintain order.