Union Home Minister and Leader of the Rajya Sabha J P Nada Tuesday accused the Congress of throwing the country into darkness when it imposed an Emergency in 1975, and hailed a section of the media, especially Indian Express and The  Statesman, for refusing to bow to the diktats of the then Indira Gandhi regime.

Charging the Congress with the imposition of censorship on the media during the Emergency, he said, “There has been a lot of discussion in the media recently about the term ‘Godi Media’. However, people often forget the true dedication of the media. If you look at the editorials from Indian Express and The Statesman from 1975, you will find them completely blank during the Emergency. “ Raising the Jammu and Kashmir issue during the Constitution debate in the Rajya Sabha, the Union minister pointed out that the Centre, led by the BJP, ended the ‘one nation – two Constitutions’ policy in the union territory. “We ended the ‘one nation, two constitutions’ policy
in J&K. The 106 laws passed by Parliament were not applicable there,” he stressed.

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Questioning the Congress on the imposition of the Emergency in 1975 under the Congress regime led by late prime minister Indira Gandhi, he asked what the need was for resorting to such a draconian move. “…Why was Emergency imposed? Was the country in danger? No, the country was not in danger. The chair was in danger. It was only about the chair. Due to this, the whole country was thrown into darkness…” he added.

He asserted that India is not just the largest democracy but also the mother of democracy. Pointing out that it will be 50 years since the imposition of the  Emergency next year, Nadda said the government was going to observe the Anti-Democracy Day and invited Congress to join the commemoration.

“It will be 50 years next year since the Emergency was imposed. We will celebrate Anti-Democracy Day. The Indian National Congress should join in. There was an evil attempt to strangle democracy during the emergency. If you have any mercy for them anywhere in your heart, if you have any remorse anywhere in your heart, then I appeal to you that you must join Anti-Democracy Day on 25th June 2025,” he said.

The BJP chief said that the Constitution was framed keeping India’s culture in mind. “The constitution bears the imprint of our culture, it reflects the marks of Ajanta and Ellora, and it also shows the imprint of the lotus,” he stated.

He said, “India has had three Prime Ministers/Deputy Prime Minister, who came from West Pakistan, Shri Manmohan Singh Ji, Shri Inder Kumar Gujral Ji, and Shri LK Advani Ji, but no person from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) could contest panchayat elections or become a member of the assembly in Jammu and Kashmir.”

Accusing Congress of indulging in appeasement politics since time immemorial, the leader of the house said there’s no triple talaq in Islamic nations like Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Syria.

“But see our secular version that to keep their minority appeasement that continued with triple talaq,” he pointed out.

He further said, “Women’s property rights were not applicable in J&K, which was strongly advocated by Jawaharlal Nehru… The 73rd and 74th Amendment Acts introduced by Rajiv Gandhi were also not applicable.”

He said 106 laws passed by the Indian Parliament were not applicable in Jammu and Kashmir, which includes the Prevention of the Atrocities Act, Human Rights Act. “You will be surprised to know that POCSO was not implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. Jawaharlal Nehru was the biggest advocate of the right to property of women, but it was not implemented in Jammu and Kashmir. You will also be surprised to know that if a Kashmiri sister got married to a non-Kashmiri, she was also deprived of property rights…”

Nadda said, “The then Home Minister Sardar Patel was given the task of uniting the country and I was very happy that after a long time, I heard the name of Sardar Patel from the Congress side too. After a long time, I heard the Congress people speaking about the great man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He united 562 princely states and left Jammu and Kashmir to the then Prime Minister…”

We cannot forget the late Ram Nath Goenka, who stood up to Indira Gandhi, stating, “I came with a pot and I will leave with a pot.” He vowed to sacrifice his life for the protection of democracy.