Greed for power characteristic of Congress: Piyush Goyal on Emergency

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday recalled the imposition of Emergency by the then Indira Gandhi government, saying greed for power is a characteristic of the Congress party.

Goyal, who interacted with a group of intellectuals here, said the Emergency was imposed as the court declared the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government a corrupt one and said that she could not hold any post for six years.

He claimed the Congress always wants to remain in power and this greed for power is a characteristic of the party.

On June 25, 1975, the Indira Gandhi government imposed Emergency, which lasted for the next 21 months, during which fundamental rights of the people were provisionally suspended and curbs were put on the press.

The commerce and industries minister was here as part of the BJP's campaign for highlighting the nine-year rule of the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.

Talking about the Emergency era, he said the day is observed as a black day in independent India.

He said on June 25, 1975, the Congress government declared the Emergency and more than 1.40 crore people were jailed without following any legal procedure, adding that the minorities were also targeted.

People of the country were also forcibly sterilised, he added.

Goyal said the intellectuals have gathered on Sunday to condemn the decision to impose the Emergency by Indira Gandhi who destroyed freedom of speech and expression as well as personal liberties and rights.

He also took potshots at Congress Rajya Sabha MP Pramod Tiwari's statement that there should be a separate law for the Gandhi family in the country.

He said neither Rahul Gandhi nor Mallikarjun Kharge or Sonia Gandhi had rebuffed Tiwari's statement, which reflected the mindset of the Congress party.

I understand that 140 crore people of this country and the people of Rajasthan will not accept that there should be a separate law for the Gandhi family, he said.

Asked about the Congress' often-repeated claim that whoever opposes Modi is either put in jail or silenced and that there is an undeclared emergency' in the country, Goyal said the media is free to ask questions, and elections are being held transparently and in a time-bound manner.

Every party is losing and winning elections. During the Emergency, elections were postponed. The Indira Gandhi government gave extensions to the government in an illegal manner. MPs were not allowed in Parliament, he said.

He further added that the people of the country today know that they have freedom.

The Union minister also targeted Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said his government's corruption is getting exposed day-by-day. He also accused the chief minister of keeping the state deprived of development.

He claimed the promises made in Gehlot's 2018 election manifesto have not been fulfilled yet.

I completely hold Ashok Gehlot ji responsible for making Rajasthan a laggard state, he said.

Goyal added that the youth have lost faith in Gehlot and in coming days, a strong, decisive and corruption-free government will be formed in the desert state.

Rajasthan will go to the polls later this year.