Emergency then, Undeclared Emergency now: The BJP's Assembly special - By Nisser Dias

Is it a Temple of Democracy or Autocracy?

Recently, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) pulled out all the stops to mark the 50th anniversary of the 1975 Emergency — yes, that Emergency—imposed by the then Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi. Across the country, saffron flags fluttered, microphones blared, and BJP leaders went on a national nostalgia tour, warning the youth about how democracy was “murdered” half a century ago.

Of course, this “awareness campaign” wasn’t complete without Goa’s Chief Minister Pramod Sawant — the Maharashtrian helmsman of Goa, jumping aboard. In what he probably considers a visionary idea, his government now wants the 1975 Emergency immortalized in school textbooks, lest students grow up without knowing what dictatorship used to look like.

Here’s the punchline: while they harp on about a 21-month Emergency from 1975, we’ve been suffering an undeclared one for the past 11 years. Yes, the so-called double-engine sarkar has brought a high-speed train of democratic decay. The Constitution is still printed, still quoted, and still worshipped during televised oaths, but in practice? It’s become a little more than a coffee-table accessory.

Let’s talk about Goa. Over the last six years, we’ve seen freedoms that were once sacred slowly shrink into silence. Freedom of speech and expression? Only if it flatters the ruling regime. Right to protest? You can try, but don’t be shocked if your voice gets drowned out by water cannons or legal notices. Assembly sessions? Those are becoming an endangered species. The number of sitting days has been slashed so drastically, we might as well conduct governance via WhatsApp forwards or Zoom calls.

Architects of truncated Assembly session

And now, just when you thought it couldn’t get more blatant, the government has decided to curtail the Opposition’s speaking time in the Assembly. Because nothing screams “democracy” like silencing the people elected to question you. We’re told this is about “discipline,” “efficiency,” and of course, “ensuring decorum.” But let’s call a spade a spade, this is the slow suffocation of dissent, the polite throttling of debate.

If the Congress back in the 70s imposed a brute-force lockdown on democracy, today’s BJP prefers the slow-drip version. Naturally, the Opposition is crying foul. Some are even calling it the Murder of Democracy. But why stop there? Let’s give it its proper name: Welcome to India’s Great Undeclared Emergency — trademark pending.

And just when your blood pressure stabilizes, along comes the radio with its nauseating praise: “Under the visionary leadership of CM Pramod Sawant…”, “Under the able guidance of CM Sawant…”—wash, rinse, repeat. If he’s truly so “visionary” and “able,” why does he seem so terrified of a handful of Opposition MLAs asking him a few tough questions?

Speaker Tawadkar - Neutral or Baised?

That brings us to Speaker of the House Ramesh Tawadkar. Remember him? The constitutional custodian of the House? The neutral umpire of our democracy? Turns out he might be playing for one team. The ruling one. The one whose jersey has a lotus on it. By clipping the speaking time of Opposition MLAs, the Speaker has ensured that the Assembly remains a monologue, not a dialogue.

This isn't governance. It’s a stage play. A cruel joke on the people of Goa.

So while the BJP weeps crocodile tears over an Emergency that ended 47 years ago, maybe it should take a long, hard look at the slow-motion emergency it has manufactured today. Because if Indira Gandhi's Emergency was a 21-month nightmare, what we’re living through now is a never-ending democratic coma, dressed up as "good governance."