Emergency clamped to put democracy 'back on the rails': Cong shares govt's 1975 White Paper

New Delhi: The government in 1975 imposed Emergency to put democracy "back on the rails" and in the wake of activities of "fascist groups" in the country that crossed all permissible limits, a White Paper on the Emergency shared by the Congress on Wednesday said.

The ruling BJP observed on Wednesday 50 years of the imposition of the Emergency as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas'. The Union Cabinet observed brief silence as a mark of tribute to the victims of the Emergency and resolved to commemorate and honour their sacrifices.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh shared the White Paper tabled in Parliament on July 21, 1975, justifying the reasons for the imposition of Emergency.

"In the last two years time and again the Prime Minister and other leaders of the country had warned the nation against the consequences of the activities of miscreants, of misdirected politicians and of the well-organised fascist groups in the country. It is only when such activities had crossed all permissible limits that the Government was constrained to declare the Emergency," the government White Paper of July 1975 said.

"Parliament has seen quite a few White Papers. Here is one that was tabled on July 21, 1975. It is of historical interest," Ramesh said on Wednesday in a post on X.

The white paper claimed the declaration of Emergency and the various actions taken by the government to restore discipline, order and stability in the country "have been welcomed by people from various strata of Indian society".

"The Prime Minister has said that the attempt of the Government is to put democracy 'back on the rails' and to ensure that the activities of an organised anti-democratic minority did not lead to the end of the very institutions of representative Government which the nation had evolved over the years.

"Some political parties with fascist leanings had combined with a set of frustrated politicians to destroy the country's self-confidence and to challenge the very basis of democratic functioning. They campaigned in the name of democracy to launch violent agitations, to paralyse the country's economic life, to divert the nation's attention from its social and economic tasks and to create anarchy and chaos in order to overthrow elected representatives of the people," the paper said.

It also claimed that the democratic rights of the people can only be safeguarded if political order is ensured. "Lack of order is often taken advantage of by anti-democratic and fascist elements to rise to power and put an end to all political and economic rights of the people," it further said.

The White Paper said, "An attempt has been made in these pages to review the scope and nature of the challenge that had been thrown up and to describe the conditions that impelled the Government to invoke Article 352 of the Constitution of India to withstand the calculated onslaught on the country's political institutions and economic progress."