*Public awareness and active participation are essential to keep democracy alive and empower it – Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai*
*Chief Minister attends the program organized on Constitution Assassination Day: Observed the exhibition organized on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency*
Raipur, June 25, 2025 / Chief Minister Shri Vishnu Dev Sai today attended the Constitution Assassination Day program organized on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency at Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Auditorium in Raipur, the capital.
Addressing the program, Chief Minister Shri Sai said that it is very necessary that our future generation should also know, understand and learn from that black day of the murder of democracy. Remembering the era of the Emergency, the Chief Minister became emotional and said that that time period is deeply connected to my life. It is not just an incident for me, but a personal pain.
The Chief Minister told that his elder father, late Shri Narhari Prasad Sai, remained in jail for 19 months during the Emergency. At that time, the condition of the homes of the democracy soldiers was very pathetic—many times the stove in the house did not even burn. I have seen many such families myself. He said that the autocratic power at that time had crushed freedom of expression, and citizens’ rights were taken away. In fact, it was a dark day for democracy, the pain of which our family has suffered and which I have experienced myself.
During the program, Chief Minister Shri Sai met the members of the families of the democracy soldiers and honored them and presented shawls, Shrifal and symbol badges.
The Chief Minister said that the Chhattisgarh government is working to honor the families of the democracy soldiers. These families are being given an honorarium of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 per month—this is a humble attempt to salute their struggle and sacrifice.
Addressing the students and youth present in the program, the Chief Minister said that the protection of 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 in that era. Public awareness and active participation are essential to keep democracy alive and empower it.
In his address, Assembly Speaker Dr. Raman Singh said that the Emergency is such a blot on the Constitution and democracy of India, which has been recorded in history in black letters. By imposing the Emergency, not only was the Constitution rendered inactive, but fundamental rights were abolished and the soul of democracy was crushed.
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 in jails without judicial process, and they were tortured. This was not only a period of political repression, but a well-planned attempt to end India’s democratic consciousness.
Dr. Singh appealed to the youth to research, read and understand the Emergency and how many people sacrificed their lives to protect democracy. We will always have to be aware and vigilant to keep democracy safe in the future.
The chief speaker of the program and former Vice Chancellor of Kushabhau Thakre Journalism and Mass Communication University, Shri Baldev Bhai Sharma, said that June 25, 1975 was the most shameful and black 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 led to the suppression of the country’s self-awareness and civil rights.
On this occasion, Chief Minister Shri Sai also participated in the public awareness rally organized on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency.