“India Narrowly Escaped a Dictatorship”: BJP Revives Attack on Indira Gandhi over Emergency and Constitutional Overhaul

BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari reignited a fierce political debate by accusing former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of attempting to rewrite the very soul of the Indian Constitution during the Emergency era. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Bhandari posted an old Times of India front-page clipping dated 30 December 1975 with the headline: "Indira aims to make fundamental changes in the Constitution."

He wrote, “This isn’t hearsay—here’s the original front page exposing her authoritarian ambition. Thank the people of India and our democratic spirit—we narrowly escaped a full-blown dictatorship under the Congress.”

“Murder of Constitution and Democracy”

Marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency (25 June 1975), Bhandari launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, particularly the Gandhi-Vadra family. He alleged that Indira Gandhi deliberately imposed the Emergency to suppress opposition and retain power. “Fifty years ago, the Constitution and democracy were murdered. Congress never apologized for this dark chapter,” Bhandari said.

He further accused the Congress of turning India into a virtual police state during the Emergency:

• Lakhs of people were jailed without trial

• Journalists were silenced

• Mass sterilization drives were conducted

• Civil liberties were suspended

• Institutions were subjugated to political will

“This was a time when the ruling party decided what people could say and what they couldn’t. It was the Congress that throttled freedom,” he added.

Political Undertones and Timing

Bhandari’s comments come amid the 50-year retrospection of the Emergency—one of the most controversial periods in Indian political history. The BJP has historically used the Emergency to position itself as a defender of democratic values, contrasting itself against the Congress's legacy of authoritarianism.

The resurfacing of this decades-old newspaper clipping appears aimed at invoking public memory and sharpening political narratives, especially at a time when debates over press freedom, institutional independence, and historical accountability are increasingly in the spotlight.