DMK does not have the right to talk about democracy: Union Minister Amit Shah
Describing Emergency as a conspiracy to convert a multi-party democracy into a dictatorship, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday hit out at DMK, socialist leaders and others who have joined hands with the Congress, saying they were sitting with a party that had “murdered democracy”.
Addressing an event “50 Years Since Emergency”, Shah also said that June 25 — the day Emergency was imposed — reminds everyone how far the Congress can go for power.
He said it was difficult to define Emergency in a single sentence but he has tried to come up with a definition — “Emergency was a conspiracy to convert a multi-party democracy of a democratic country into a dictatorship”.
The home minister said it may be 50 years since the Emergency of 1975, but the memories of “injustice, tyranny and dictatorship” of the Congress were still fresh in everyone’s mind.
He said after the imposition of Emergency, 1.1 lakh people — opposition leaders, student activists, journalists and editors — were arrested across the country.
Subsequently, non-Congress governments in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu were dismissed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he said.
“Unfortunately, many of those who faced the wrath of Emergency, are now aligned with the Congress party.
“People who are standing with the Congress now are those whose governments fell at that time and were put behind bars for 19 months. There were ‘samajwadi’ (socialists), DMK and others who are now sitting with the Congress.
“Today, they are raising questions concerning democracy. I want to ask these people, rather than the Congress, under what right are they raising these questions? Which party are you sitting with, the party that murdered democracy,” he said.
Shah said India can’t accept dictatorship as this country is the birthplace of democracy.