The BJP’s humbling experience during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls does not seem to have dampened its spirits as the start of 18th Lok Sabha was marred by hostile exchanges between the government and the Congress over references to the black days of Emergency. A report by Mudit Mathur
The newly sworn-in coalition government of NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has signalled that it will continue to disregard the opposition bloc, mainly the Congress party, in and outside Parliament, though the latter has now acquired good strength in terms of numbers. Modi government 3.0 seems intent on playing on the front foot while dealing with the Congress in the House though the BJP’s seat tally has fallen 32 short of the majority mark in the Lok Sabha polls, whereas the Congress tally has climbed up and has nearly doubled.
The beginning of the 18th Lok Sabha was marred with such acrimonious hostile exchanges by unsolicited references to the black days of democracy during the “Emergency” era, imposed by the Congress party 49 years ago. This virtually compelled both the treasury benches and the Opposition to resume their entrenched positions with the hounding nightmare of the undemocratic mass expulsions they faced as excessive punishment towards the last phase of 17th Lok Sabha. This paved the way to clear many controversial legislations without any debate in both houses of the parliament.
This time, the uproar erupted after Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla called upon the House to condemn the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and observe its 50th anniversary. “June 25, 1975 will always be known as a ‘black chapter in the history of India’. On this day, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy,” Birla remarked. Speaker Birla initiated the issue that was followed by PM Modi and even President of India Droupadi Murmu in her joint address to the Parliament mentioned it.
In the first session after the recent Lok Sabha polls, Murmu also invoked the Emergency of 1975, calling it “the biggest and darkest chapter of a direct attack on the Constitution”. This salvo is considered a political reply from team Modi showing a mirror to the INDIA bloc, whose leaders had been displaying copies of the Constitution of India in their hands pledging to protect its values and mandate for governance.
