Chandigarh, June 25 (IANS) Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini on Wednesday said ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ served as a solemn reminder that the arrogance of power and nepotism were among the biggest threats to democracy.
He emphasised that the Constitution “is the supreme law of the land, and it is our paramount duty to uphold and protect it. Any action that undermines or violates its core principles cannot and should not be ignored”.
CM Saini was talking to the media in Karnal to mark 50 years of the Emergency.
He paid tributes to the brave heroes who stood up against dictatorship during the Emergency, noting that they endured imprisonment and torture but never surrendered their principles.
“Today, I salute all those heroes who raised their voices for democracy,” he said.
CM Saini said, “On June 25, 1975, the soul of the Constitution was attacked when Emergency was declared, putting our democratic values in danger. Although it was claimed that there was an internal crisis, the real reason was a personal desire to stay in power.”
“For the next 21 months, the country was under dictatorship. Many people who believed in democracy were put in jail and tortured,” he said.
CM Saini said “the purpose of observing ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ was to remind people, especially the younger generation, about the importance of democracy, and to keep everyone aware and alert about protecting our democratic system.”
He said the Emergency was not only a constitutional crisis but also an assault on the process of democracy which guarantees freedom of expression, equality and justice.
It was also an attack on the ideas of Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee, who gave the slogan “One Nation, One Constitution” and sacrificed his life for this cause.
The Chief Minister said the people of Haryana also stood strong in this struggle and many people had sacrificed everything to protect democracy.
He said some people were going around holding the Constitution, but this was just hypocrisy.
“These same people claim that the Constitution, written by Baba Saheb Ambedkar, is under threat. Yet, there was a time when their own party openly destroyed the Constitution under the cover of darkness,” he said.
He added that those whose political predecessors imposed dictatorship in the country, suppressed the Press, jailed leaders, and carried out forced sterilisation cannot honestly claim to be defenders of the Constitution and democracy today.
“Before giving speeches about democracy, they should admit their mistakes, accept responsibility for harming democracy, and apologise to the nation,” the Chief Minister added.
–IANS
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