The party’s official handle on X posted a poll in Hindi, asking: “Agar Congress satta mein aati hai toh kya woh dobara Emergency laga sakti hai?” (If Congress comes to power, could it impose an Emergency again?). Over 76 percent of the roughly 46,000 respondents chose “No.”
Published Jun 26, 2025 | 6:55 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 26, 2025 | 6:55 PM
The party probably expected that a majority of respondents would vote “Yes.”
Synopsis: A poll posted by the BJP on X, seemingly intended to reinforce its claim that the Congress might impose another Emergency if elected, backfired when over 75 percent of respondents disagreed. Meanwhile, the Congress has accused the Modi government of running an undeclared emergency today, citing clampdowns on dissent, misuse of power, and neglect of national crises such as those in Manipur and Pahalgam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party’s efforts to seemingly gain popular approval for its narrative that the Congress is authoritarian have backfired spectacularly.
The BJP-led NDA government observed Wednesday, 25 June – which marked the 50th anniversary of the Emergency – as Samvidhan Hatya Divas, terming it a “Black Day” that must never be repeated.
On the occasion, the party’s official handle on X posted a poll in Hindi, asking: “Agar Congress satta mein aati hai toh kya woh dobara Emergency laga sakti hai?” (If Congress comes to power, could it impose an Emergency again?)
The party probably expected that a majority of respondents would vote “Yes.” But when the poll closed around 7 pm on Thursday, 26 June, the results said otherwise.
Among the 46,670 respondents, 76 percent chose “No.”
कांग्रेस सत्ता में आई तो फिर Emergency लगा सकती है?#SamvidhanHatyaDiwas
— BJP (@BJP4India) June 25, 2025
The Congress, meanwhile, launched a scathing attack on the Union government, accusing it of imposing an undeclared emergency on the country, even as it trumpets a 50-year-old Emergency to “distract” the people from its own failures.
“The Congress Party has been running the Save the Constitution movement across the country for the past one year. This has rattled the BJP,” AICC President and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, said on 25 June, speaking at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.
“At this time, there is an undeclared emergency in the country. This government neither respects the Constitution nor the Parliament.”
He said the ruling party had no moral authority to speak about constitutional values.
“Those who had no contribution to the country’s freedom movement, those who had no contribution to the making of the Constitution, those who opposed the Constitution – burned its copy – they are preaching to the Congress Party about the Constitution.
“The Modi government gives new programmes and slogans every day to cover up all its failures.”
He continued: “It wants to divert the public’s attention from issues like failed foreign policy, inflation, unemployment, corruption, economic distress, the growing gap between the poor and the rich, undue benefits to a few industrialists, and rising communalism.”
लोकतंत्र और संविधान आज सबसे अधिक संकट में केवल मोदी सरकार की वजह से है।
जब भी कोई व्यक्ति देशहित में बात करता है तो वो मोदी जी को बर्दाश्त नहीं होता है। आखिर Freedom of Speech and Expression और Freedom of Movement कहाँ है?
➡️कोई छात्र देशहित में बात करता है तो उसे देशद्रोही… pic.twitter.com/NEInxOK9Qz
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) June 25, 2025
Kharge further cited the clampdown on dissent, curbs on free speech, and centralisation of power to stress his point.
“Whenever someone speaks in the interest of the nation, it becomes intolerable for Modi ji. Where is Freedom of Speech and Expression and Freedom of Movement?” he questioned.
“If a student speaks in the interest of the nation, they are labelled a traitor. If a journalist writes something, they are thrown into jail. If a magazine writes about the government’s shortcomings, it is not accepted by the Modi government. A government where there is no freedom to speak is the one trying to teach us!”
Kharge also pointed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s absence during recent crises, even as he chose to appear in election rallies.
“The entire opposition kept demanding a Special Session on Pahalgam, but no session was called. Two All-Party Meetings were held, Modi ji did not attend. We are holding meetings, but he was busy campaigning in Bihar,” he said.
“This shows how much sympathy he has for the victims of the Pahalgam attack!”
He also slammed Modi’s silence on the ongoing conflict in Manipur, saying the prime minister had neither visited the state nor addressed the situation directly.
“Manipur is burning, but Modi ji hasn’t visited there even once. He’s travelling across the country, travelling abroad, but in Manipur, the Constitution is being torn to shreds, and he doesn’t go there! Are the people of Manipur not citizens of India?” he questioned.
“Democracy and the Constitution are in the greatest crisis today solely because of the Modi government.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
