On Thursday, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongly criticized the Congress and the INDIA bloc for their reaction to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s comments on the Emergency. Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT cell, posted on X, “The I.N.D.I Alliance and their extended ecosystem should stop lecturing the Speaker. The position enjoys supreme power over the proceedings of the House. You contested the Speaker election and lost. Don’t behave like a sore loser. If you want to fight the lion, have some courage. It is just the beginning.”
Ravi Shankar Prasad, a former Union minister and senior BJP leader, also condemned the Congress for its leaders’ remarks about Birla. Referring to the Emergency as “the sin of the murder of democracy,” Prasad questioned, “Why should not this black chapter in Indian democracy be discussed?”
Om Birla, elected as the Lok Sabha Speaker through a voice vote, had denounced the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. “June 25, 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India. On this day, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in the country and attacked the Constitution made by Babasaheb Ambedkar,” Birla stated. He added, “Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Indira Gandhi imposed dictatorship on such an India. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled.”
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On Thursday, leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, along with a group of opposition leaders, met with Birla, expressing that the reference to the Emergency could have been avoided. Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal stated, “We discussed many issues about Parliament. Rahul ji, the LoP, informed him (Birla) that it was a political reference and it could have been avoided.”
