STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: The government has decided to observe June 25, the day the Emergency was declared in 1975, as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to commemorate the “massive contributions” of those who endured inhuman pains of the period, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced on Friday.
He also said the observance of ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ will help keep the eternal flame of individual freedom and the defence of the democracy alive in every Indian, thus preventing “dictatorial forces” like the Congress from “repeating those horrors”.
A gazette notification issued on Friday by the Union Home Ministry notes that Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, following which there was “gross abuse of power by the government of the day and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities”.
Reminder of what happened when Constitution was trampled: Modi
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday that observing June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ will serve as a reminder of what happened when the Constitution was trampled over.
He said on ‘X’, “It is also a day to pay homage to each and every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress unleashed dark phase of Indian history.”
Meanwhile, the BJP has said commemoration of June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ every year will remind people of the sacrifices and martyrdom of those who fought against the “dictatorial mindset” of the Congress.
The BJP’s reaction came after Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the government’s decision to observe June 25, the day on which the Emergency was declared in 1975, as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to commemorate the “massive contributions” of those who endured “inhuman pains” of the period.
June 25, 1975 was the black day when the “dictatorial mindset” of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency on the country by “murdering” the democracy enshrined in the Constitution, BJP chief and Union Minister JP Nadda said in a post on X.
“This day will remind us of the sacrifices and martyrdom of all our great men who fought against this dictatorial mindset of the Congress, endured torture and died for the protection of the Constitution and restoration of democracy,” he said.
“I express my gratitude towards the prime minister for this decision which would remind us of the importance of democracy every year,” he added.
The people of India have abiding faith in the Constitution and the power of its resilient democracy, it said.
“Therefore, Government of India declares 25th June as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to pay tribute to all those who suffered and fought against the gross abuse of power during the period of Emergency and to recommit the people of India to not support in any manner such gross abuse of power, in future,” says the notification.
Shah said that on June 25, 1975, then prime minister Indira Gandhi, in a “brazen display of a dictatorial mindset, strangled the soul of India’s democracy by imposing the Emergency on the nation”.
Lakhs of people were thrown behind the bars for no fault of their own, and the voice of the media was silenced, he said.
“The Government of India has decided to observe the 25th of June every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas.’ This day will commemorate the massive contributions of all those who endured the inhuman pains of the 1975 Emergency,” he said in a post on X.
“The decision made by the government led by PM Shri @narendramodi Ji is intended to honour the spirit of millions who struggled to revive democracy despite facing inexplicable persecution at the hands of an oppressive government,” he said.