Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday paid homage to all ‘those greats’ who resisted the Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on this day in 1975 and said democracy had prevailed over authoritarianism. The Emergency was imposed in India on June 25, 1975 and remained in vogue till March 21, 1977.
"India salutes all those greats who fiercely and fearlessly resisted the Emergency. India's democratic ethos successfully prevailed over an authoritarian mindset," Modi said in a Twitter post. Home Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah recalled how newspapers were shut and citizens of the country were deprived of their fundamental rights during the Emergency.
"Lakhs of patriots suffered to reestablish democracy in the country. I salute all those soldiers," he tweeted. BJP's working President Jagat Prakash Nadda also said in a tweet that the Emergency period was a "black blot". "In 1975, on this day, democracy was murdered by the Congress party to remain in power. A grateful nation remembers thousands of unsung heroes from Bharatiya Jan Sangh and RSS, who led the anti-Emergency movement from the front" he tweeted.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to highlight how it was one of the darkest chapters in India’s political history. "The declaration of Emergency on June 25, 1975 and the incidents that followed, mark as one of the darkest chapters in India's history. "On this day, we the people of India should always remember the importance of upholding the integrity of our institutions and the Constitution," he said.