Congress invocation of Constitution sham, says BJP

New Delhi, June 27

The BJP attacked the Congress on Thursday for objecting to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s condemnation of Emergency, claiming that this showed the opposition party’s intentions were not right and its invocation of the Constitution was merely a smokescreen.

BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said the Congress began squirming at the mention of the Emergency, which was imposed by the Indira Gandhi government in 1975. Referring to Emergency as “the sin of the murder of democracy”, he asked, “Why should not this black chapter in the Indian democracy be discussed?” He noted the Congress never apologised for imposing the Emergency.

Prasad’s remarks came after LoP in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi met Birla and voiced his displeasure over the Lok Sabha Speaker’s critical statement on on the Emergency.