“Political leaders were jailed, the judiciary was pressured and press freedom was muzzled,” he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader claimed that the seeds of the Emergency were sown when arrogance took hold of the Congress party after India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war.

He said “Black Day” events are being held across the country to educate future generations about the assault on democracy and the Constitution during that time.

Targeting former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, Shekhawat said he is “irrelevant” in the current political scenario and claimed that the Congress has sidelined the veteran leader despite his three terms as chief minister.

“Gehlot is now making baseless and misleading statements just to stay politically relevant,” he said.

Shekhawat said the former chief minister still seems to be operating with the “hotel politics” mindset, referring to a political crisis during the previous Congress rule in the desert state, when MLAs of the ruling party were put up in a hotel.

Reacting to Gehlot’s frequent attack on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Union minister said, “We are proud to be swayamsevaks. Our ideology is rooted in national interest.” He dismissed Gehlot’s statements as “irrational”, claiming that people no longer take him seriously. PTI SDA RC