Government to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to mark Emergency

Government to observe June 25 as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to mark Emergency

Sub: Polity

Sec: Constitution

Context:

PM Modi says it is a reminder of what happened when “Constitution was trampled over”; Congress slams government’s decision and calls it “another headline grabbing exercise”

More About News:

• The Union government has decided to observe June 25 — the day that the Emergency was imposed in 1975 — as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’,
• “This day will commemorate the massive contributions of all those who endured the inhuman pains of the 1975 Emergency,”.
• “The observance of ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ will help keep the eternal flame of individual freedom and the defense of our democracy alive in every Indian, thus preventing dictatorial forces like the Congress from repeating those horrors”.
• “It is also a day to pay homage to each and every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress-unleashed dark phase of Indian history”.

Samavidhaan Hatya Diwas:

• Constitution Assasination Day.
• After the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, there was “gross abuse of power… and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities”. The people of India have abiding faith in the Constitution and the power of its resilient democracy.
• (1975-1977): The third and most controversial national emergency was declared in 1975, primarily due to “internal disturbance” amidst internal political unrest. This period witnessed a significant suspension of civil liberties.

Impacts Imposed during 1975 Emergency:

• Constitution (39th Amendment) Act, 1975was enacted in response to the Allahabad High Court’s ruling declaring PM Indira Gandhi’s election void.
  • The Act placed disputes involving the president, Vice President, prime minister, and Speaker beyond the judiciary’s scope and included certain Central Acts in the Ninth Schedule