Mamata Banerjee: Country went through 'Super Emergency' in last 5 years

Mamata Banerjee

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday took aim at the BJP-led central government and asserted that the country went through a period of 'Super Emergency' in the last five years which was Narendra Modi's first tenure as Prime Minister.

On the occasion of the 44th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency, Banerjee tweeted, "Today is the anniversary of the #Emergency declared in 1975. For the last five years, the country went through a 'Super Emergency'. We must learn our lessons from history and fight to safeguard the democratic institutions in the country."

Banerjee, who has been at loggerheads with BJP, did not participate in the recent all-party meetings convened by Prime Minister Modi. She also skipped the swearing-in ceremony of the new government last month and did not attend the June 15 NITI Aayog meeting.

On the contrary, Modi said that the country saluted those who "fiercely and fearlessly" resisted the Emergency period.

"India salutes all those greats who fiercely and fearlessly resisted the Emergency. India's democratic ethos successfully prevailed over an authoritarian mindset," he tweeted.

June 25 marks the day when then prime minister Indira Gandhi had declared a state of Emergency in the country for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977.

Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution due of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from June 25, 1975, until its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.

The order vested upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed.

The Emergency is considered to be one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.

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Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from ANI

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