New Delhi: Union minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday hit back at Congress MP Jairam Ramesh over his social media post describing May 26 as “Undeclared Emergency@11”, calling the remark “deeply ironic” and accusing the Congress of hypocrisy over issues of democracy and freedom of speech.
Ramesh, a senior Rajya Sabha MP and party strategist, had posted on X, “Today is May 26, 2025. Today is Undeclared Emergency@11.” The remark was a pointed reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 11 years in office, as he first took oath on this day in 2014.
Congress’ checkered track record
Responding sharply to his remarks, Joshi wrote on X: “It is deeply ironic that a party dominated by a single family is now speaking about democracy and freedom of speech.” He went on to list a series of instances from the Congress’s own history which, he argued, show the party’s checkered track record on democratic principles:
1. This is the same Congress party that has misused Article 356 over a hundred times to topple democratically elected governments across the country.
2. In 1975, it declared a national Emergency for personal and political gain—suspending fundamental rights and stripping citizens of their freedoms.
3. Its own government in Karnataka has issued a gag order, eerily reminiscent of the Emergency era tactics.
4. And now, they are targeting and attempting to arrest journalists and news anchors who express views critical of the party.
Undeclared emergency
“Will Congress & its national president Mallikarjun Kharge clarify their stance on these actions?” Joshi questioned.
It is yet another escalation in the political rhetoric between the ruling BJP and the principal opposition Congress over “undeclared emergency” in the country.
