Speaker's reference to Emergency sparks face-off with Cong

New Delhi: Soon after his election as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla on Wednesday set off a firestorm by reading out a resolution condemning the imposition of Emergency as an attack on the Constitution by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi, an act that triggered vociferous protests by Congress member in the House.

Birla recalled that it was on June 26, 1975 that the country woke up to the cruel realities of Emergency, when the Congress government jailed opposition leaders, imposed many restrictions on the media and also curbed the autonomy of the judiciary. "As we enter the 50th year of the Emergency, this 18th Lok Sabha reiterates its commitment to uphold, protect and preserve the Constitution built by Babasaheb Ambedkar," he said as opposition members, mostly from the Congress, were on their feet, raising slogans against the reference to Emergency.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the Speaker's reference to Emergency in the Lok Sabha and said it was important for the youths as the period was a "fitting example of what happens when the Constitution is trampled over, public opinion is stifled and institutions are destroyed". "The happenings during the Emergency exemplified what a dictatorship looks like," Modi said.

While Congress members raised slogans against the reference to Emergency in the Lok Sabha, BJP MPs gathered in huge numbers on the footsteps of the Parliament building to protest against the suspension of civil liberties 49 years ago.