New Delhi, June 27: Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar on Friday hit out at the Congress for not apologising even 50 years after it imposed the Emergency by “murdering” the Constitution.
Speaking at the sidelines of a Mock Parliament organised by Delhi BJP here to mark the dark chapter of Emergency, Jaishankar said, “Some people go around carrying a copy of the Constitution, but they have little respect for it in their hearts. Has the Congress ever apologised for the Emergency?”
“Holding a copy of the Constitution does not achieve anything. It should be in your heart and mind,” he said, in a veiled jab at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who often is seen displaying a pocket copy of the Constitution.
Jaishankar said, “I tell young people that the Emergency happened because the interest of a family was put ahead of the interest of the nation with a great sense of pride.” “In contrast to Emergency, today we are saying the interest of the nation should be put ahead of everything else,” he said.
“We need to keep the youth informed about the dangers of Emergency — how democracy and the Constitution were murdered and how restrictions were imposed on media — and the implications of the dark phase on India’s image on the international stage,” he said. Referring to the recent diplomatic outreach in the backdrop of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Minister said he feels a great sense of pride when he sees non-BJP leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Supriya Sule, Sanjay Jha and Kanimozhi Karunanidhi leading Parliamentary delegations to inform the world about the country’s firm stand against terror. “I feel proud when I see a unity of delegations with all parties going out across the world and speaking in defence of our national interests, giving the message of zero-tolerance for terrorism,” he said. Talking about the feedback he got from the delegates after the diplomatic outreach, the Minister said, “They said in every country the most impressive part found by the hosts was that all parties, including opposition parties, were part of it.” Emergency, which lasted for 21 months from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, was imposed under Article 352 of the Constitution by the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under pressure from former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During the period of Emergency, citizens’ basic rights were suspended, media freedom was curbed through heavy censorship, the independence of the judiciary was severely undermined, and thousands of people were jailed without any hearing. –IANS rch/dpb