RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras had supported Emergency: Congress

Mumbai: Hours after the Union Cabinet—led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—on Wednesday passed a resolution condemning the Emergency on its 50th anniversary, the Congress said that the then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras had supported the Emergency and even publicly distanced the RSS from Jayaprakash Narayan's movement.

"Due to the then-prevailing circumstances in the country, Indira Gandhi had to make the decision to impose the Emergency. Later, she, Sonia Gandhi, and Rahul Gandhi admitted that certain administrative errors occurred during that time. But the BJP continues to raise a hue and cry about it," Maharashtra Congress president Harshavardhan Sapkal said.

“The decision to impose Emergency in 1975 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was constitutional. Certain forces were attempting to create chaos in the country. Later, the Emergency was lifted, elections were held, and democratic processes were restored,” Sapkal told reporters in Tilak Bhavan, the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) headquarters in Mumbai.

“During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi didn't sell the country's assets or hand over public sector enterprises to But for the past 11 years, there has been an undeclared Emergency in the country. Even Dharavi's land has been sold, and the BJP's insatiable hunger is threatening democracy,” he said.

“The BJP government has splurged crores on advertisements around the Emergency. In these government ads, the national emblem is missing, replaced by the Sengol. There's no need to elaborate what Sengol symbolizes. The BJP wants to dismantle democracy and the Constitution and implement M S Golwalkar's Bunch of Thoughts,” alleged Sapkal.

Congress' official publication Janmanasachi Shidori has released a special Emergency edition, featuring articles by Indira Gandhi, Pupul Jayakar, senior journalist Kumar Ketkar, Saamana editor and MP Sanjay Raut, among many veteran writers. This edition aims to present the truth about the Emergency and counter the BJP's false narrative, Sapkal said.