Emergency turned democracy into constitutional dictatorship: Jaitley
New Delhi, June 24: Union minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday recalled how the Indira Gandhi government had imposed a "phoney Emergency" and "turned democracy into a constitutional dictatorship" about more than 40 years back.
"It was a 'phoney emergency' on account of proclaimed policy that Indira Gandhi was indispensable to India and all contrarian voices had to be crushed," Jaitley wrote in a Facebook post titiled "The Emergency Revisited" - Part-I - the Circumstances Leading to the Imposition of Emergency.
"The constitutional provisions were used to turn democracy into a constitutional dictatorship," he added.
The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975 on account of internal disturbances leading to suspension of the fundamental rights.
Noting that on the midnight of June 25/26, a fresh proclamation was got signed by the President on a state of internal emergency, he said that "simultaneously with the proclamation under Article 352 ,another proclamation under Article 359 was issued suspending the fundamental rights under Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. Every Indian was now devoid of this fundamental right."
On his own role then, he said he was the first "Satyagrahi" against the Emergency.
"I led a protest of Delhi University Students where we burnt effigy of the Emergency and I delivered a speech against what was happening.
"The police had arrived in large number. I got arrested only to be served a detention order under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act. I was taken to Delhi's Tihar Jail...
"I thus got the privilege for organising the only protest on the morning of June 26, 1975 and became the first Satyagrahi against the Emergency," he said, adding that "little did I realize that at a young age of 22 years, I was participating in events which were going to be a part of history. For me this event changed the future course of my life..."
Terming 1971 and 1972 high points in the political career of Indira Gandhi, he said that she had challenged the senior leaders of her own party and a grand alliance of opposition party to win the 1971 general elections to become "the key centre of political power for the next five years".
However, listing her mistakes, Jaitley said: "She botched up the nationalisation of wheat trade (subsequently reversed) to tackle the unmanageable inflation. It led to greater inflation. This led to social and trade union unrest where large number of man-days were lost."
Noting that while the first oil shock had already had an adverse impact, the US, "due to its tilt towards Pakistan", suspended a lot of aid to India and inflation in 1974 "touched a staggering 20.2 percent and reached 25.2 percent in 1975".
"Labour laws were made more stringent and these led to a near economic collapse. There was large scale unemployment and the unprecedented price rise," he said, adding that investment in the economy had taken a back seat, and then the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act was enacted.
Noting that the government with a huge electoral mandate at the Centre and the states, continued in the same unviable economic directions which she had experimented in the late 1960s, Jaitley said: "The tragedy of Mrs. Indira Gandhi's politics was she preferred the popular slogans over sound and sustainable policies."
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Hemant Soren to take oath as 14th CM of Jharkhand on Thursday
Ranchi (PTI): Hemant Soren is set to take oath as the 14th chief minister of Jharkhand in a grand ceremony here on Thursday, which will be attended by several top political leaders, including AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar will administer the oath of office and secrecy to Soren at 4 pm.
This will be the 49-year-old JMM leader's fourth stint as chief minister.
Soren retained the Barhait seat, defeating BJP's Gamliyel Hembrom by a margin of 39,791 votes in the recent assembly polls. The JMM-led alliance stormed to victory, securing 56 seats in the 81-member assembly, while the BJP-led NDA managed 24 seats.
Posters for the event can be seen across the city, while security has been strengthened and traffic regulations put in place.
Schools in Ranchi city are shut on Thursday in view of the swearing in of the Hemant Soren government.
Jharkhand in-charge and Congress general secretary Ghulam Ahmad Mir said Soren is likely to take oath alone, and expansion of the cabinet will be held after a vote of confidence in the assembly.
Other senior political leaders likely to be in attendance are NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Meghalaya CM Conrad Sangma, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, a JMM leader said.
CPI(ML)L general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray, Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti and Bihar’s Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav are also likely to attend the oath-taking ceremony.
"It’s heartening to have such esteemed leaders join us for this important occasion," said Soren, who along with senior officials paid a visit to the Morabadi ground on Wednesday evening to take stock of the arrangements.
