Amit Shah on Emergency: ‘India Never Bows to Dictatorship’, Calls for June 25 to Be Observed as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Union Home Minister Amit Shah delivered a forceful reminder of what he termed a “dark chapter” in India’s democratic history. Speaking at an event organized by the Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, Shah asserted that India will never accept dictatorship and called for June 25 to be observed annually as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas—a day to remember the subversion of the Constitution. He lambasted the Congress party for imposing the Emergency without parliamentary consultation and accused it of using the move to protect its power, not the nation. Shah also questioned the current political alliances of parties like the DMK and Samajwadi Party, whose leaders were once jailed during the Emergency but now align with Congress. Recalling his personal experience from the time—when he was just 11 years old and 184 people from his village were jailed—Shah emphasized that forgetting such incidents is dangerous for any democracy. He urged the youth to read the Shah Commission Report to understand the full scope of the Emergency’s excesses, including the weakening of the judiciary and suspension of civil liberties. “Democracy,” he concluded, “is not protected by courts or Parliament alone. It is the right and duty of every citizen.”