Public awareness and active participation are essential to keep democracy alive and strong – Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai
Chief Minister attended the program organized on Constitution Hatya Diwas: Observed the exhibition organized on the 50th anniversary of Emergency
Raipur 25 June 2025: Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai today attended the Constitution Hatya Diwas program organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in the capital Raipur. Addressing the program, Chief Minister Sai said that it is very important that our future generation should also know, understand and learn from that dark day of murder of democracy. Recalling the period of Emergency, the Chief Minister got emotional and said that that period is deeply connected to my life. This is not just an incident for me, but a personal pain. The Chief Minister told that his elder father Late Narhari Prasad Sai was in jail for 19 months during the Emergency. At that time the condition of the houses of democracy fighters was very pathetic – many times even the stove did not burn in the house. I have seen many such families myself. He said that the autocratic power had crushed the freedom of expression at that time, civil rights were taken away. In fact, that was a black day for democracy, whose sting our family has suffered and which I have lived through myself.
During the program, Chief Minister Sai met the members of the Loktantra Senani families and honored them and presented them shawls, coconuts and symbols. The Chief Minister said that the Chhattisgarh government is working to honor the families of Loktantra Senanis. These families are being given honorarium ranging from Rs 10 thousand to Rs 25 thousand per month – this is a humble effort to salute their struggle and sacrifice. Addressing the students and youth present in the program, the Chief Minister said that protecting the Constitution is the collective responsibility of all of us. He urged the youth to know, read and understand the history of the Emergency and how the Constitution was crushed during that period. Public awareness and active participation are essential to keep democracy alive and strong.
Assembly Speaker Dr. Raman Singh said in his address that the Emergency is such a blot on the Constitution and democracy of India, which has been recorded in black letters in history. By imposing emergency, not only the constitution was made inactive, but the soul of democracy was crushed by abolishing fundamental rights. He said that at that time the country was turned into an open prison, in which there was an atmosphere of fear and terror. More than one lakh people were imprisoned without judicial process, and were tortured. This was not only a period of political repression, but a well-planned attempt to end the democratic consciousness of India. Dr. Singh called upon the youth to research, read and understand about the emergency and how many people sacrificed their lives to protect democracy. To keep democracy safe in future, we will always have to be aware and vigilant.
The chief speaker of the program and former Vice Chancellor of Kushabhau Thackeray Journalism and Mass Communication University, Baldev Bhai Sharma said that 25 June 1975 was the most shameful and dark day of Indian democracy. There is no other example in world history of the way the constitution and democratic values were crushed on this day. Arbitrary amendments were made in the Constitution, which suppressed the self-consciousness and civil rights of the country. On this occasion, Chief Minister Sai also participated in the public awareness rally organized on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency. Chief Minister and Assembly Speaker observed the special exhibition organized on the Emergency
Chief Minister Vishnu Dev Sai and Assembly Speaker Dr. Raman Singh observed the special exhibition based on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency organized at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium. In this exhibition, the repressive policies during the Emergency, violation of human rights and violation of democracy were depicted through pictures and documents. Chief Minister Sai said that the Emergency is a black chapter in the history of Indian democracy, which should not be forgotten. Such an exhibition will prove helpful in explaining the importance of democracy and the Constitution to the new generation. Assembly Speaker Dr. Raman Singh also praised this initiative and said that this exhibition is a true tribute to those who struggled to protect democracy. On this occasion, Industry Minister Lakhan Lal Devangan, MLAs Purandar Mishra, Guru Khuswant Saheb, Motilal Sahu, CSIDC Chairman Rajiv Agarwal, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board Chairman Neelu Sharma, Democracy Fighters Association National Vice President Sachchidanand Upasne, State President Diwakar Tiwari, Chhattisgarh Sahitya Academy Chairman Shashank Sharma and Culture Director Vivek Acharya along with a large number of scholars, democracy fighters and students were present.
