Jamshedpur: Emergency Was the Darkest Chapter of Democracy: Raghubar Das slams Congress

Jamshedpur: Marking the completion of 50 years since the declaration of Emergency in India, former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Raghubar  Das launched a scathing attack on the Congress, calling the Emergency the darkest chapter of Indian democracy. Addressing a press conference at the BJP Jamshedpur Mahanagar office in Sakchi, Das accused the Congress of throttling the Constitution and strangling democracy for its own political survival.

“The Congress, in its greed for power, turned the entire country into a prison on the night of June 25, 1975. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi trampled on the Constitution and silenced all voices of dissent,” said Das. He claimed that Congress no longer has the moral authority to speak on democratic values, having committed what he termed the “sin of suppressing democracy”.

The event was part of a nationwide public awareness campaign launched by the BJP to commemorate 50 years since the imposition of Emergency. Present at the press meet were Jamshedpur Mahanagar President Sudhanshu Ojha, former district president and co-speaker Abhay Singh, state campaign co-coordinator Jatashankar Pandey, district vice president and program coordinator Babua Singh, media in-charge Prem Jha and co-media in-charge Akhil Singh.

Recalling the events leading to the Emergency, Das pointed to the Allahabad High Court’s judgment on June 12, 1975, which annulled Indira Gandhi’s Lok Sabha membership. “To save her chair, she declared Emergency at midnight by misusing the office of the President without cabinet approval. What followed was a complete blackout of constitutional rights,” he said.

He narrated how prominent opposition leaders including Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, and several others were jailed. “The press was gagged, the judiciary was weakened, and the voices of the people were silenced,” he added.

Sharing his personal experience, Das said he was just 18 when the Emergency was imposed. Actively involved in the student movement through Kishore Sangh in Bhalubasa, he went underground after police demolished the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti’s bamboo-made office. “I was arrested on July 6–7 and first sent to Jamshedpur jail, and later to Gaya Central Jail on August 16,” he said. He also recalled that during a student protest near Basant Talkies on July 10, many were injured in police firing — the spot later came to be known as Shaheed Chowk.

Das recounted the two visits of Loknayak Jaiprakash Narayan to Jamshedpur, where he inspired thousands to rise against the Indira regime with the call of “Singhasan Khali Karo”. The student-led resistance eventually led to Congress’s defeat in the 1977 general election.

Calling the Emergency a lesson in vigilance, Das appealed to the Central Government to include its history in school curriculums so that future generations are aware of how democracy was suppressed. “Just as we remember the freedom movement, we must also remember this dark chapter,” he said.

He also accused Congress of repeatedly misusing the Constitution during its 60-year rule — especially Article 356, which he claimed was used to topple 90 non-Congress state governments.