Cong placed 'democracy' under arrest: PM on 50th annniversary of Emergency; Cong hits back

AS the country commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday asserted it was one of the "darkest chapters" in India's democratic history and slammed the then Congress government, saying it placed "democracy under arrest.

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Top leaders of the BJP and key ally JD(U) led the charge against the Congress with Modi saying no Indian will ever forget the manner in which the spirit of the Constitution was violated during the Emergency. The prime minister also affirmed his gov ernment's commitment to strengthening constitutional principles.

The Union Cabinet at its meeting presided by Prime Minister Modi adopted a resolution against the Emergency and resolved to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless individuals who valiantly resisted the measure and its attempt at subversion of the spirit of the Indian Constitution. It also observed a two-minute silence as a mark of tribute to them.

The Congress on its part launched a counter attack on the Modi government, alleging that over the past eleven years, Indian democracy has been under a "systematic and dangerous" five-fold assault that can be best described as "Undeclared Emergency@11".