Patna (Bihar) [India], June 26 (ANI): Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary on Wednesday lashed out at the Congress party on the 50th anniversary of imposition of the Emergency, accusing it of 'killing democracy' and questioned its ally Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for siding with those responsible.

'The people of this country watched who killed democracy. The entire nation is understanding who was responsible for destroying democracy. So they took steps to oust them from power,' Choudhary said, referring to the Emergency imposed in 1975 under the Congress-led government.

He added, 'The Congress party should answer this, and the RJD should also explain how they are forming their alliance with the murderer of democracy. Lalu Yadav, who started politics under Jayaprakash Narayan's guidance, is now playing into the hands of Congress.'

Choudhary's remarks came as the BJP marked June 25 as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas.

Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya also slammed the Congress party on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, accusing it of misleading voters in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by falsely claiming that the Constitution was in danger.

'Congress did the work of imposing Emergency in the country. The people of the country are against the Congress party. Congress is not a party with the ideology of democracy. Congress is a 'pariwarvaadi' party,' Maurya said while speaking to reporters.

He added, 'What Congress has done is that in Lok Sabha 2024, they misled the public by saying that the Constitution is in danger and took votes, but when the public understood the truth, it filled the BJP's bag with huge number of votes in Haryana, Maharashtra, Delhi Assembly and showed Congress its place.'

Between 25 June 1975 and 21 March 1977, India was placed under a state of Emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution. On 25 June 1975, the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued the Emergency proclamation under Article 352, citing threats from internal disturbance. This was the third Emergency in India's history, but the first one declared in peacetime. Earlier proclamations were during wars with China (1962) and Pakistan (1971).

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi of using the 50th anniversary of the Emergency to divert public attention from issues like unemployment, inflation and demonetisation.

Kharge said the Modi-led government was trying to cover up its 'failures and repeated lies' by marking the day as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' and focusing on a chapter of history that had ended decades ago. (ANI)