‘Undeclared Emergency’: Opposition reacts to PM Narendra Modi’s jibe

Opposition MPs on Tuesday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of imposing an “undeclared Emergency” in the country by allegedly suppressing the voice of dissent and freedom of speech.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that PM Modi has been digging into the past to hide his shortcomings

“The country is looking towards the future, while you keep digging into the past to hide your shortcomings,” he wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

“Breaking parties, toppling elected governments through backdoor methods, misusing agencies like ED, CBI, and IT against 95% of opposition leaders, imprisoning chief ministers, and using power before elections to disturb the level playing field – isn’t this an Undeclared Emergency?” questioned Kharge.

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The Congress chief also alleged that whether it was demonetisation, or lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, there are hundreds of examples where the Modi government did not use “consensus and cooperation.”

“Modi Ji talks about consensus and cooperation, but his actions are contrary to this. When 146 opposition MPs were suspended from Parliament, and three laws – Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 – were passed to change the criminal justice system of the country, where was this word consensus?” he added.

His reaction came hours after PM Modi took a swipe on the Congress party on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.

TMC MP Mohua Moitra also alleged that the country was going through an “undeclared Emergency” in the country during which BJP allegedly tried to undermine the Constitution.

“In the last ten years, there was an undeclared Emergency in the country. The BJP and Prime Minister Modi have supressed all institutions, including the judiciary and investigative agencies. The BJP government not only suppressed the voices of the people, it also attempted to undermine the Constitution.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Modi took a jab at the Congress party, saying that it had no right to profess love for the Constitution in light of the Emergency.

“Those who imposed the Emergency have no right to profess their love for our Constitution. These are the same people who have imposed Article 356 on innumerable occasions, got a Bill to destroy press freedom, destroyed federalism and violated every aspect of the Constitution.”