New Delhi: Taking another step in its commemoration of 50 years since the Emergency was imposed, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government has announced on Friday, July 12, through a gazette notification that June 25 will be celebrated as “Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas” (Constitution Murder Day), in a move that has been criticised by opposition parties who accused the BJP of murdering the constitution everyday for the past decade.
The gazette notification shared by union home minister Amit Shah states:
“Whereas, a proclamation of Emergency was made on 25th June, 1975, following which there was gross abuse of power by Government of the day and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities. And whereas, people of India have abiding faith in the Constitution of India, and the power of India’s resilient democracy…
“Therefore, Government of India declares 25th June as “Samvidhan 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.”
Sharing the gazette notification on X, Shah said that then-Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi “in a brazen display of a dictatorial mindset, strangled the soul of our democracy by imposing the Emergency on the nation.”
“Lakhs of people were thrown behind bars for no fault of their own, and the voice of the media was silenced.
“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.”
While Shah did not name the Congress, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a post on X, sharing the gazette notification, said that the day will remain a homage to how the Congress “unleashed a dark phase of Indian history”.
“Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas will serve as a reminder of what happens when the Constitution of India was trampled over. 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,” he wrote.
Since June 25, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has been marking 50 years of the imposition of the Emergency with various programmes. President Droupadi Murmu in her joint address to both the Houses of parliament in the first session of the 18th Lok Sabha described the imposition of Emergency as the “biggest and darkest chapter” of direct attack on the Constitution. A before Murmu’s address, BJP MP Om Birla who returned as the Lok Sabha speaker for the second consecutive term, made a strong political statement condemning the Emergency and the-then Congress government.
Naming the Congress, Birla said that the-then Congress government trampled democratic principles.
“Emergency was a dark period of our democracy. The then Congress government brought in laws and amendments to trample on citizens’ rights and democratic principles,” he said.
Birla’s statement hitting out at the opposition and particularly the Congress, caused an uproar from opposition benches but found plaudits from Modi.
‘Human rights activists have been jailed’
The opposition Congress has hit out at the BJP for announcing Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas. In a statement, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh called it “yet another headline grabbing exercise.”
“Yet another headline grabbing exercise in hypocrisy by the non-biological PM who had imposed an undeclared Emergency for ten long years before the people of India handed him a decisive personal, political, and moral defeat on June 4, 2024 – which will go down in history as ModiMukti Diwas,” he said.
“This is a non-biological PM who has subjected the Constitution of India and its principles, values, and institutions to systematic assault. This is a non-biological PM whose ideological parivar had rejected the Constitution of India in Nov 1949 on the grounds that it did not derive inspiration from Manusmriti.
“This is a non-biological PM for whom democracy means only demo-kursi.”
In a statement on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that the Modi government has observed “Samwidhan Hatya Diwas” through the last 10 years.
“Mr. Modi, BJP-RSS wants to abolish the Constitution and implement Manusmriti. So that the rights of Dalits, tribals and backward classes can be attacked! That is why he is insulting Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar by adding the word “murder” to the sacred word ‘Constitution’,” he wrote in Hindi.
RJD MP Manoj Jha said that that BJP should also celebrate January 30, when Mahatma Gandhi was killed as “Gandhi Hatya Diwas” and accept that Nathuram Godse was an RSS functionary.
“See who is speaking… the Home Minister. How can you say that? You people have destroyed the Constitution yourselves. You have completely ruined it. You have imprisoned elected representatives. Human rights activists have been jailed. Father Stan Swamy died in jail. You should call January 30 when Mahatma Gandhi as Gandhi Hatya Diwas. And accept the person who was responsible for his death. Will you be able to do that?” he said.
AAP MP Sanjay Singh said that the BJP should also celebrate how state governments were toppled in Uttarakhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra and whether that was murdering the Constitution.
“Why only June 25 will be observed as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’? Why it is not being observed on the day when the new Parliament was inaugurated and our female wrestlers were beaten on the streets of Delhi? Why is it not ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’?” he said.
