Bengaluru, June 19 (IANS) Karnataka BJP announced on Thursday that it will launch a public awareness campaign from June 22 to June 30 regarding the imposition of Emergency in the country by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977.
The campaign is being held in collaboration with the BJP, Citizens for Social Justice, lawyers’ associations, and civil society groups.
The BJP leaders released posters related to the Emergency period during a Press conference.
The party also stated that former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda will inaugurate the meeting regarding the public awareness campaign on June 24. Former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa will preside over the meeting.
Speaking at a joint press conference held at the BJP state office in Bengaluru, BJP’s former National General Secretary and current MLC, C.T. Ravi stated, “June 25 marks 50 years since the declaration of ‘Emergency’ in India. The awareness campaign will take place across various districts from June 22 to June 30.”
“This awareness campaign is being organised to ensure that ‘Emergency’ is never imposed again in the future and to make people aware of how the Congress turned dictatorial, anti-Constitution, and anti-democratic,” he said.
A public campaign against ‘Emergency’ will be inaugurated on June 24 at 4.30 pm in Bengaluru’s Town Hall by former PM Gowda.
MLC Ravi further stated that former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who was arrested under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) during the Emergency period, will preside over the event.
Renowned columnist and journalist, Tamil Nadu’s S. Gurumurthy, who played a key role in raising awareness against ‘Emergency’, will deliver the keynote address, he stated.
Ravi stated that those arrested under the MISA Act during Emergency will be honoured and their experiences documented. A dialogue between the youth and those who were arrested under MISA provisions will be organised, along with an awareness march.
Those arrested under the MISA provision during the ‘Emergency’ period will also visit the jails in which they were imprisoned. The campaign aims to promote awareness of constitutional values, MLC Ravi underlined.
BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra, Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi, Shobha Karandlaje, V. Somanna, Hardeep Singh Puri, Opposition Leaders R. Ashoka, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, former Chief Ministers D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar, Basavaraj Bommai, and party incharge Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, along with National Spokesperson Guruprakash Paswan and other senior leaders will travel to various districts to raise awareness about Emergency.
“During Indira Gandhi’s regime, authoritarian rule prevailed, and the Constitution was virtually placed in the ICU. Democracy was murdered, human rights were crushed, and the fourth pillar — freedom of the Press — was severely curtailed,” he charged.
“Even questioning arrests was unimaginable. The then Attorney General even remarked that one had no right to question even if someone was killed,” Ravi added.
Ravi said that during the Emergency, the Constitution was amended arbitrarily and without debate.
“The preamble was altered. For 21 months, human rights were brutally suppressed. The Allahabad High Court had declared Indira Gandhi’s election invalid, and in order to override that verdict, the Constitution was amended, and dictatorship was enforced. These actions were undertaken by the Congress under Indira Gandhi to safeguard their political interests, hide illegalities, and retain power,” Ravi slammed.
“The struggle against the Emergency was, in fact, India’s second freedom movement,” Ravi declared.
He said that the movement was led by freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan, and leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani, George Fernandes, and, in Karnataka, H.D. Deve Gowda, B.S. Yediyurappa, P.G.R. Sindhia, and senior RSS leader Dattatreya Hosabale were among the lakhs of people who relentlessly fought during that time.
Ravi further said that Congress leaders of that era — who were part of Indira Gandhi’s and Sanjay Gandhi’s brigades and now occupy senior posts, such as AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge — were sycophants at the time, praising Indira with slogans like ‘India is Indira, Indira is India.’
Responsibilities have been assigned district-wise, and an exhibition will be organised showcasing the dark memories of the Emergency, which he described as the “black era of Independent India.”
–IANS
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