Jaishankar's veiled dig at Rahul: Slams 'Constitution in hand' politics; blames Gandhi family for Emergency

NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Friday took a veiled dig at the Congress party and its leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing them of hypocrisy over their public display of constitutional values. While not naming anyone directly, Jaishankar criticised those who "flash the Constitution" but fail to uphold its spirit.

"What respect can you see towards the Constitution by those who are still not apologising for the Emergency?" he said. "Nothing happens by roaming around with a copy of the Constitution. It should be respected from the heart."

Reflecting on 1975 Emergency, Jaishankar said, "Some people flash the Constitution in their hands but the feeling in their hearts are different... Political parties also have a DNA and they have, to date, never expressed regret for imposing Emergency."

He went on to describe the Emergency as a dark attempt to break the nation’s spirit. "When a family is considered above the nation, things like Emergency take place," he said. "This entire exercise, in a way, was to break the morale of the country and the society... Many people, who were not even in politics, were impacted. Those who were in politics were well aware that doing politics meant an inevitable arrest, and those who were arrested were unaware if and when they would be released."

Jaishankar also added with a message: "The one lesson that Emergency taught us is to never take freedom for granted."

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also marked the occasion, calling the Emergency the "darkest chapter" in the history of India’s democracy.

The Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1975, and lasted until March 21, 1977. It was declared under Article 352 by then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, citing internal disturbances, and was the first peacetime Emergency in India’s history.