Emergency 1975: BJP, Congress Caught in Twitter War With Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Poetry, Blogs, Videos And More
A war of blogs and Twitter spat has erupted over the 1975 Emergency that was declared by then prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Mumbai, June 26: A war of blogs and Twitter spat has erupted over the 1975 Emergency that was declared by then prime minister Indira Gandhi. The Bharatiya Janata Party has gone all guns blazing on the Congress over the declaration of Emergency by posting several videos, tweets and blogs. The Congress on the other hand has countered all of BJP's claims with its "Modi Emergency" claim.
The BJP, among other tweets, has posted a video titled - Emergency: Congress unleashed a dark chapter in India's history - attacking the Indira Gandhi regime. The party has also posted a poetry written by former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee opposing the Emergency. (Also Read: Arun Jaitley compares Indira Gandhi with Hitler)
The BJP is observing the day as 'Black Day'. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, "I salute the courage of all those great women and men who steadfastly resisted the Emergency, which was imposed 43 years ago. Their struggles ensured people power prevailed over authoritarianism and the stifling of civil liberties."
"India remembers the Emergency as a dark period during which every institution was subverted and an atmosphere of fear was created. Not only people but also ideas and artistic freedom were held hostage to power politics," he added.
The Congress, meanwhile, has cited Indira Gandhi's apology, saying, "It takes a great leader courage and humility to acknowledge one's mistakes and learn from them." The party has published a counter blog titled - The Slow Poison of Modi's Undeclared Emergency.
"The Emergency of 1975 was a dark period in our country’s history. It represents a period of our past that was mired in controversy, political insecurity and national indignation. It is a period of history that we have accepted & former & present leaders have apologised for," the Congress said in the blog.
"Today we are living in a battered, bleeding democracy, and though no Emergency has been declared, people are being killed and people are being jailed. People are being hauled up for sedition, for being anti-national and for simply not conforming to the RSS’s vision of India. This is an Emergency and it’s time we stood up and took notice," it added.
The two parties are in a war with each other with "Congress Kills Democracy" and "Modi Emergency" hashtags on Twitter. Meanwhile, the Congress has also hit out at BJP for a government advertisement in a newspaper attacking the Indira Gandhi regime for Emergency. The Congress has said that the BJP cannot use taxpayer's money for political advertisements.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 26, 2018 11:21 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).