Suit-boot govt has imposed undeclared Emergency: Congress

Congress on Thursday accused the government of imposing an “undeclared Emergency” in the country after Prime Minister Narendra Modi termed Emergency as one of the “darkest periods” in India’s history on its 40th anniversary.

Congress spokesperson Shobha Oza’s attack on the Modi government also comes in the backdrop of a series of statements by National Democratic Alliance ministers on Emergency imposed in 1975 by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

“The suit-boot government working at the Centre has in a way imposed an undeclared Emergency in the country. And leaders of the party like Lal Krishna Advani have expressed similar kind of opinion and fear. He does not trust the leadership that an Emergency won’t be declared in the country,” Oza said.

Advani’s statement a few days back that “forces that can crush democracy are stronger” created a buzz in political circles leading to speculation that it was a barb aimed at Prime Minister Modi but Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh dismissed it while Congress and other BJP rivals shared his concern.

Congress and other rivals of BJP utilised the statement given by Advani in an interview to target Modi and accused the government of undermining Parliament and other institutions.

Oza added that similarly another senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha expressed his opinion that in his party veterans were declared “brain dead”.

“So this clearly that shows seniors leaders of BJP also admit somewhere that undeclared emergency has been imposed,” she said.

Stepping up attack on the government on ‘Lalitgate’, Oza said, “This is BJP’s real face. They help corrupt and absconders. They protect people like Vasundhara Raje so that their truth does not come out in front of country’s officers.”

Oza, whose party had been targeting Union Minister Nihalchand over a rape case, said, “They help those who have been accused of rape. So all this shows that they are a party with a difference. Be it any allegation, they never suspend any leader of their party.”

Latching on to media reports about Rohini Salian, Special Public Prosecutor in the case related to 2008 Malegaon blasts saying that she was under pressure from National Investigation Agency to go soft in the case since the new government came to power, Oza said this shows a form of “undeclared Emergency”.

“The lawyer in case of investigation in Malegaon blast has been asked to take a soft stand and the works of NIA officials reveal the same. This shows a form of undeclared Emergency.”

Attacking Human Resource Development minister Smriti Irani, she said, “Another instance of undeclared emergency is that views of RSS and BJP are being imposed on educational institutions and these institutions have been protesting on roads against it.

“But still the incompetent people are being imposed on the educational system just because they support RSS ideology,” Oza said.