PM Modi defends Om Birla’s address on Emergency, says, ‘1977 election saved Constitution..’

Speaking about the era of Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while replying to the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, said that the 1977 election saved the constitution.

“If this election was to save the Constitution, then the people of the nation chose us for it...1977 election saved the Constitution…,” the PM said.

After being elected as Lok Sabha Speaker, Om Birla condemned the then-Congress government's decision to impose an Emergency in 1975.

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“This House strongly condemns the decision to impose Emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the determination of all those people who opposed the Emergency, fought and fulfilled the responsibility of protecting the democracy of India. 25th June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India,” Birla said.

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Meanwhile, PM Narendra Modi jibes at Congress over Lok Sabha 2024 elections. He said, “With these election results, not only a jump in the capital market is being seen, but there is also an atmosphere of joy across the world...Amid this, Congress people are also happy. I can't understand the reason for this joy...Is this joy for the hattrick of loss? Is this joy for falling to nervous 90? Is this joy for another failed launch?”

He added, “I saw even Kharge ji as energetic. But perhaps Kharge ji served his party a lot because the blame for this loss that should have been attributed to someone was saved by him, and he stood like a wall instead...Whenever such a situation arises, a Dalit and backward have to bear the brunt, and that family remains safe. The same was seen here, too.”

PM further added, “You would have seen the issue of Lok Sabha Speaker; their defeat was certain there, but who did they push forward? A Dalit. They knew that he would lose, but still, he was fielded. In the President and Vice President elections in 2022, they fielded Sushil Kumar Shinde and let the Dalit lose; they themselves have nothing to lose. In 2017, when the defeat was certain, they fielded Meira Kumar…”

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PM Modi alleged that the Congress has an anti-SC/ST/OBC mindset, due to which they kept humiliating former President Ram Nath Kovind. “With this mindset, they left no stone unturned in insulting the first tribal woman President of the country and used words they no one else can,” he added.

Opposition walkout

The opposition MPs said that the Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, was not allowed to speak. Protesting against this, they engaged in sloganeering against the Prime Minister and staged a walkout.

Congress leader and LoP in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said that we walked out because the PM was addressing the House on the President's address and told some wrong things to the House. “It's his habit to lie and say things beyond truth. I have just asked him that, when he was speaking about the Constitution, you didn't make the Constitution, you people were against it. I was just clarifying that who the people were for and against the Constitution... They (RSS) have opposed the Constitution. They burnt the effigy of BR Ambedkar & Pandit Nehru... He says time and again that we disrespected BR Ambedkar, he said it there (in Lok Sabha) and he is saying it today also... I wanted to tell what Babasaheb has said in the Constituent assemble and what the RSS has written in the Organiser.”

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Meanwhile, On the Opposition's walkout from Rajya Sabha, NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar says, “He (Mallikarjun Kahrge) is on a constitutional post. Be it the PM or the Chairman of the House, it's their responsibility to respect him, but today it was all ignored and hence the entire opposition is with him, and hence we walked out.”

(With inputs from agencies)