In a veiled attack on late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for imposing emergency in the 1970s, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that the soul of the country was crushed just because they wanted to remain in power.
"Today is June 25. On the night of June 25, the soul of the country was crushed. In India, democracy does not come into existence from the pages of the Constitution; it has been our soul for decades. That soul was crushed just because they wanted to remain in power," he said while replying to the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in Lok Sabha.
Earlier in the day, Modi remembered "greats who fiercely and fearlessly resisted the Emergency.
"India salutes all those greats who fiercely and fearlessly resisted the Emergency. India's democratic ethos successfully prevailed over an authoritarian mindset," the Prime Minister tweeted with a short video.
The one-minute-twenty-seven-second video features Modi's 2015 address in the Rajya Sabha about the Emergency period. "Cruelties were inflicted during the period, but the nation did not bow down," he said while adding that the whole country was turned into a jail.
The video also had clippings of newspapers articles from that time. It also shows protesters being beaten up by the police and women protestors who took to the streets.
June 25 marks the day when then prime minister Indira Gandhi had declared a state of Emergency in the country for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977.
( With inputs from ANI )