Bigotry & democratic backsliding

The BJP is marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, emphasising how power was misused by Indira Gandhi for personal interests without considering the broader national interest.

- Dhurjati Mukherjee

Going into top gear, Union Home Minister Amit Shah highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “nation first” approach. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge launched a counter attack stating that an “undeclared emergency” has prevailed for the past 11 years and claimed that Modi is addressing the Emergency issue to divert attention from “governance challenges and institutional control.”

The BJP insisted that it’s imperative to discuss the sufferings the then government inflicted on people so that it is never repeated. As against this, critics of the NDA government are raising questions about freedom of expression in the country and accusing the government of lacking tolerance and trampling liberty and fraternity. In particular, they allege journalists and student activists are being imprisoned for simply being critical of the government and opposing its policies. A recent study undertaken by the Clooney Foundation for Justice’s TrialWatch initiative in part-