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Vice-President addresses Rajya Sabha Interns in New DelhiPosted Date:- Jun 20, 2025
New Delhi : The Vice-President of India, Jagdeep Dhankhar, today reminded the gathering of a critical historical episode, namely Emergency, saying, “Today I am reflecting on an incident, which comes as a sad anniversary within seven days. India was in the 28th year of its independence from the British colonial regime in 1975. It was June 25, 1975, at midnight. The President of India, then, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, signed, at the instance of the then Prime Minister, Smt. Indira Gandhi — a declaration of Emergency in the nation. It was for the first time.”
It was June 25, 1975, at midnight. The then-President of India, Dr. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, signed, at the instance of the then-Prime Minister Smt. Indira Gandhi — a declaration of Emergency in the nation.
A President cannot act on the advice of an individual, the Prime Minister.… pic.twitter.com/wbQ4k0m52v— Vice-President of India (@VPIndia) June 20, 2025
Interacting with participants of the 7th Batch of Rajya Sabha internship program (RSIP-7) at Vice-President Enclave, New Delhi, Shri Dhankhar said, “Now you are discerning minds. A President cannot act on the advice of an individual, the Prime Minister. The Constitution is very categorical. There is a council of ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President. This was one violation, but what was the result? More than 100,000 citizens of this country were put behind bars in hours.”
Reflecting on the collapse of democratic institutions, he said, “They were dragged out of their homes, put in jails all over the country. Our Constitution ceased to exist. Our media was held hostage. Some of the illustrious newspapers had blank editorials.”
Sharing a chilling account of those arrested, he noted, “And you know, illustratively, who were these people who were suddenly put behind bars? Many of them became Prime Ministers of this country — Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, Chandra Shekhar Ji. Many of them became Chief Ministers, Governors, Scientists, and talented people. Many of them were your age.”
Turning to the judiciary’s role, the Vice-President highlighted, “That was a time when the fundamental essence of democracy capsized in times of distress. People look up to the Judiciary. Nine High Courts in the country have gloriously defined that, emergency or no emergency, people have fundamental rights, and there is access to the justice system. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court overturned all nine High Courts and gave a judgment which will be the darkest in the history of any Judicial institution in the world that believes in the rule of law. The decision was that it is the will of the Executive to have Emergency for as much time as it thinks fit.”