Tripura CM Manik Saha attended a BJP event marking ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’, recalling the “dark days” of the Emergency. He stressed educating youth about this “black chapter” to ensure it never recurs and criticised the then Congress government.
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha attended a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) programme to mark ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ on Thursday. Addressing the gathering, the Chief Minister underscored the necessity of ensuring that the “dark days” of the Emergency never recur, noting that the period was defined by a pervasive atmosphere of panic. He further stressed the importance of educating the youth and future generations about this chapter in the nation’s history.
CM Recalls ‘Atmosphere of Fear’
Recounting the Emergency period, he described an “atmosphere of fear” in Tripura, noting that the prevailing panic made it difficult for citizens to anticipate arbitrary arrests or detention. “Emergency was declared in the country in 1975. Then I, along with a few others from Tripura, had to stay at Allahabad Railway Station for three days. This incident happened on the way to Howrah. Later, after a few days in Kolkata, we reached Agartala. Only those who had the power of understanding at that time will understand what the Emergency was. At that time, the Chief Minister of Tripura was Sukhomoy Sengupta. There was an atmosphere of fear in Tripura at that time. There was such an atmosphere of panic that one could not predict when someone would be arrested or thrown in jail. I am aware of almost all the events of that time. I still remember those days,” said CM Saha.
A ‘Black Chapter’ in Democracy
CM Saha further characterised the Emergency as a “black chapter” in the nation’s democratic history, stating that the day is observed to serve as a reminder to ensure that such circumstances do not occur in the country. “Emergency was a black chapter for the country’s democracy. We observe this day so that such a day does not return. So that such a situation does not happen again, every year the Bharatiya Janata Party declares June 25 as a black day in the history of Indian democracy and observes it as Kala Diwas or Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas across the country. When the government came to power in 2014 under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, initiatives were taken to ensure that such a black day does not come again and that people do not forget that day. For this reason, in 2024, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that June 25 would be observed as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas,” he said.
He said that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of Emergency to save her position. “Generally, there are three ways to declare an Emergency, such as National Emergency, Constitutional Emergency, and Financial Emergency. In some cases, including war, external invasion, armed rebellion, and questions of national security, a state of Emergency can be declared under Article 352 of the Constitution. In that case, it can be issued through President’s rule. This situation came during the war with Pakistan and China. But how many times during that time did the government issue Article 356 and overthrow the elected representatives of many states or their governments,” added CM Saha.
The Chief Minister also said in the discussion that future generations and youth must be informed about this dark chapter of the Emergency. That is why today is being observed.
‘Congress Destroyed the Country’s Democracy’
The Chief Minister strongly criticised the role of the then Congress government in declaring the state of Emergency and said, “I will tell our workers to make everyone more aware of this dark chapter of the Emergency. It is completely inappropriate for them to talk about democracy, as the Congress had destroyed the country’s democracy. This day should be observed every year and we must keep our democracy alive.”
The event was attended by BJP state president Abhishek Debroy, vice president Tapas Bhattacharya, RSS pracharak Piyush Kanti Bhattacharya, vice president Papiya Dutta, Social Welfare Minister Tinku Roy, state general secretary Bipin Debbarma, Sadar Urban district president Asim Bhattacharya, and other public representatives and party leadership. (ANI)
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