'Congress Was Punished': Jairam Ramesh As Row Over Emergency Continues In Parliament

As the row over the Emergency continues in Parliament, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Thursday that the Emergency was imposed in the country by the Congress through a constitutional provision in June 1975. He said that Lok Sabha elections were held in March 1977, and the grand old party was "brutally punished."

Responding to Union Minister Kiren Rijiju's post on X, which said that Congress should accept the fact that it imposed the emergency and trampled the Constitution in 1975, Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying that the same electorate that "punished" the grand old party in 1977 brought it back to power in January 1980 with a huge majority that has eluded the Prime Minister.

"Honble President of India has rightly echoed the sentiments of the nationI appeal the Congress Party to kindly accept the fact. Congress imposed the emergency & trampled the Constitution of India in 1975. We must never forget the past & look positively towards the future," Rijiju had said in the post.

Ramesh reacted to the post and said, "1. Emergency was imposed by Congress by a Constitutional provision in June 1975. 2. Elections were held im March 1977. Congress was brutally punished. The same electorate in Jan 1980 returned Congress with huge majority that has eluded Modi who has imposed undeclared Emergency".

Meanwhile on Thursday, President Droupadi Murmu emphasised the government's unwavering faith in the Constitution and efforts to make it a part of "public consciousness", while slamming the Emergency as the "biggest and darkest chapter of direct attack" on the Constitution.

In her first address to a joint sitting of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha after Prime Minister Narendra Modi began his third term, she described the poll result as an endorsement of his government's policies while ruing attempts to hurt people's faith in electoral process, including EVMs- an apparent swipe at opposition parties. It is like cutting the very branch on which "we all are sitting", she said.

Amid cancellation and deferment of some competitive exams due to suspicion of paper leaks, which have drawn protests from students and the opposition's attack on the government, Murmu said her government is committed to a fair probe and ensuring punishment to culprits. She said, "My government is working towards major reforms in examination related bodies. This process requires complete transparency and probity."

In her address, the President highlighted the government's measures in a range of sectors, from economy, defence and farming to the empowerment of different sections of society, and laid down its priorities in its third term, amid sporadic protests from opposition benches when she referred to issues such as paper leaks and matters related to the North East region.