New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla on Wednesday condemned the decision to impose the Emergency in 1975 and observed a two-minute silence in the memory of the citizens who lost their lives during the period, triggering vociferous protests and sloganeering from the opposition.

The then cabinet had post-facto ratified the Emergency

Speaking in the House after being elected the Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla said the democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled during the “dark period” of the Emergency.

“The Emergency had destroyed the lives of so many citizens of India, so many people had died. We observe two minutes of silence in the memory of such dutiful and patriotic citizens of India who lost their lives at the hands of the dictatorial government of Congress during that dark period of the Emergency,” Birla said.

Birla’s reference to the Emergency, which happened shortly after he assumed charge as the Speaker of the Lower House for a second straight term, also led to the first adjournment in Parliament this year.

“This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. We appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting India’s democracy,” Om Birla said amid vehement protests and sloganeering by the Congress and its other INDIA bloc member MPs raised slogans against the reference to the Emergency.

Lasting for nearly two years, from June 1975 to March 1977, the Emergency was imposed by the then Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi and agreed upon by the then President of India Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution. A state of emergency was declared on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the country.

Calling the period a “dark period”, Om Birla said that Indira Gandhi – by imposing the Emergency – had “attacked the Constitution made by Babasaheb Ambedkar”.

“Democratic values and debate have always been supported in India. Democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Indira Gandhi imposed dictatorship on such an India. The democratic values of India were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled,” the Lok Sabha Speaker said in Hindi.

He further stated that during the Emergency, Indians had to bear the brunt of “compulsory sterilisation” imposed by the then Congress government, “arbitrariness in the name of removing encroachment in cities and the government’s evil policies”.

“The then cabinet had post-facto ratified the Emergency, approving this dictatorial and unconstitutional decision. Therefore, to reiterate our commitment to our parliamentary system and this second independence achieved after countless sacrifices, it is necessary to pass this resolution today. We also believe that our young generation must know about this dark chapter of democracy,” Birla said and urged the MPs to observe a two-minute silence.

Soon after, the Speaker adjourned the proceedings for the day and NDA leaders staged protests outside Parliament with placards with messages such as ‘Dictatorial mentality, Congress reality’, ‘Some things never change’, among others. Union Ministers Kiren Rijiju and Prahlad Joshi were seen in the front row of the protests.

The NDA leaders also raised slogans by standing on the stairs of Parliament.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “I am glad that the Honourable Speaker strongly condemned the Emergency, highlighted the excesses committed during that time and also mentioned the manner in which democracy was strangled. It was also a wonderful gesture to stand in silence in honour of all those who suffered during those days.”

“The Emergency was imposed 50 years ago but it is important for today’s youth to know about it because it remains 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,” he added.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said Om Birla, by moving a resolution in the Lok Sabha against the Emergency, honoured the struggle of the satyagrahis who raised their voices against the repression and exploitation of the Congress government.

“The House today remembered the ‘era of injustice’ in the form of the ‘Emergency’ and expressed its condolences to the poor, Dalits and backward people who had to suffer the exploitation and atrocities of the Indira Gandhi government, when the rights of the citizens of the country were destroyed and their freedom was snatched away,” Shah posted on X.