PM Modi remembers 'dark night' of the Emergency, Congress hits back

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reminded people of the “dark night” when the Emergency was imposed in India on this day in 1975 under the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's regime.

“June 25, 1975—it was a dark night that no devotee of democracy can ever forget. No Indian can ever forget. The country had virtually become a prison,” he said during his 'Mann Ki Baat' monthly radio address.

The voice of the opposition had been “smothered,” he recalled.

“Several prominent leaders including Jai Prakash Narayan had been jailed. The judicial system too could not escape the sinister shadows of the Emergency. The press was completely muffled,” he added.

Modi said “eternal vigilance” was the price of liberty.

“The believers of democracy fought a prolonged war, and the great nation that India is, where the spirit of democracy pervades the very being of all its people, the strength of that spirit was demonstrated when the opportunity of elections came. We have to further fortify that legacy,” he added, referring to the defeat of the then Congress government in elections post-Emergency.

The Congress hit back and accused the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government of imposing an “undeclared emergency” on the country during its regime today, referring to the recent CBI action against NDTV promoters Prannoy Roy and his wife Radhika.

“The fact is that there is a muzzling of the media and the raids on media, which can only be listed as undeclared emergency,” a multimedia news agency quoted Congress leader Tom Vaddakan as saying.

During his radio talk, Modi greeted the nation on the occasion of Hindu's festival Rath Yatra and Muslim's Eid-ul-Fitr.

“India’s diversity is its unique characteristic. India’s diversity is also its strength,” he added.